Vanderbilt hit back-to-back sixth inning home runs separated by a two hour rain delay. That second home run proved to be the difference as the Commodores knocked off Tennessee 7-5 to claim the weekend series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
It marks Tennessee’s fourth straight series loss and a 1-4 home series record in SEC play. Here’s how it went down in the series finale
Bad Baseball From The Jump
Bad baseball has plagued Tennessee the last month and it took the Vols no time to get back to it on Sunday afternoon.
RJ Austin gave Vanderbilt a one-out baserunner by singling up the middle. Andrew Fischer didn’t catch a knee high pick off attempt before Tegan Kuhns’ next pitch, allowing Austin to take second. The centerfielder swiped third in the same at-bat and came home to score when Cannon Peebles throw got into left field.
Three at-bats into the game, Tennessee had committed two errors. In the first inning, Vanderbilt scored a run with its lone baserunner coming on a single despite the fact that Kuhns struck out three batters. It was the brand of bad baseball that has gotten Tennessee beat often as of late.
Things Get Testy In The Bottom Of The First
After an ugly top of the first, Tennessee punched back in the bottom half. The Vols had a clear game plan to attack the quick throwing Connor Fennell— don’t make eye contact with him until you’re ready.
That quickly came to a head in the game’s second at-bat when Fennell was warned for not making eye contact with Andrew Fischer. That at-bat ended with Fischer tying the game with a moonshot off the batter’s eye.
Fischer let everyone in a Vanderbilt uniform know about it while trotting around the bases. Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin was out to talk to the umpire the moment Fischer touched home. Tony Vitello wasn’t far behind him. After a lot of jarring, the umpires gave both sides a warning.
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Tegan Kuhns Solid In Short Outing
Tegan Kuhns did not go deep in the game, throwing just 48 pitches in 3.2 innings pitched but it was an outing where Kuhns got the job done.
We detailed how Vanderbilt got its first inning run and Colin Barczi did the additional damage off Kuhns with a solo homer off the video board in the second inning. Cannon Peebles helped Kuhns get out of a third inning two-out rally by catching a runner stealing and then Kuhns retired the first two batters of the fourth before his day ended.
It was a quick hook for Kuhns but Tennessee pulled him with Barczi due up. He finished the day allowing four hits plus walks while striking out five.
Two Strike Mistake And Another Rain Delay
Flame throwing Tanner Franklin came into the game with one-out and no-one on base in the sixth inning. Franklin struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches before getting ahead of Braden Holcoomb 0-2.
Holcomb then hit an 0-2 fastball deep to right field and Chris Newstrom was unable to haul it in leading to a two-out triple. Franklin then got ahead Colin Barczi 0-2 and left a fastball over the middle. The Vanderbilt backstop hammered his second homer of the game off the video board in right field to give Vanderbilt a 5-3 lead.
Before Vitello could make a pitching change, the game went into a weather delay that lasted two hours and one minute. When play resumes Jonathan Vastine took Dylan Loy deep on the third pitch that he threw.
Tennessee Fought Back But Lacked Enough Clutch Hitting
Tennessee did a strong job of fighting back, especially after the Vastine homer easily could have taken the air out of the team. Gavin Kilen was hit by a pitch with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and Fischer followed it up with his second homer of the game to pull the Vols back within one run.
The Vols threatened in the eighth inning when Dalton Bargo legged out an infield single and advanced to second on a passed ball with no-one out. The second of consecutive groundouts moved Bargo to third and Levi Clark was hit-by a pitch to put runners on the corners before Cannon Peebles flew out to end the inning.
In the ninth, Tennessee put two-on with one-out thanks to hits from Ensley and Curley. Blake Grimmer flew out to the warning track in center before Levi Clark walked to load the bases. Cannon Peebles struck out on three pitches to end the game. Tennessee left 12 runners on base to just three from Vanderbilt
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball is back at Lindsey Nelson Stadium Tuesday night for its final home game of the regular season. The Vols host instate foe Belmont at 5 p.m. ET.
