Tennessee baseball battled another weather delay while knocking off Belmont 9-4on Tuesday night. Hunter Ensley had a big, albeit short, night on Senior Night in what could be his final game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Here’s what to know about the midweek matchup.
Tennessee Opens Game Up With a Big Second Inning
Tennessee stranded a pair of baserunners on base in the first inning before taking the lead and opening things up with a five-run second inning.
The Vols loaded the bases with one-out from production from the back of the lineup. Levi Clark walked, Blake Grimmer reached on an error and Reese Chapman blooped a single while flipping things over for the top of the lineup.
Gavin Kilen drove in the game’s first run with a groundout to second base before Andrew Fischer provided the biggest swing of the night with a three-run blast to right field. Hunter Ensley made it back-to-back with a homer to left.
Rain Delay Cuts Michael Sharman’s Outing Short
Tony Vitello gave the ball to left-handed pitcher Michael Sharman to make his third midweek start in the final midweek game of the season.
Sharman largely cruised through the first two innings. The junior college transfer offered a two-out walk in the first inning and immediately erased the baserunner by picking him off. Then in the second inning, Sharman retired the side around a two-out single.
There was no one warming in the bullpen meaning Vitello planned on letting Sharman work deeper in the game before the rain delay ended his evening. Sharman ended the day with two strikeouts while allowing two baserunners in two innings pitched.
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Short But Effective Senior Day For Hunter Ensley
Hunter Ensley was the lone Tennessee player to go through Senior Day festivities on Tuesday and received a nice ovation when he came to the plate for the first time in the first inning.
Ensley’s day was a short one but a productive one. He reached on an infield single in the first inning and went deep for the 29th time in his career with a solo shot to the third deck of porches in left field in his second bat.
The game went into a weather delay immediately following Ensley’s home run and it effectively ended his day. Ensley ran back into centerfield to warm up for the top of the third inning before Colby Backus came out to sub in for him. Ensley ran off the field to another nice applause for potentially the last time at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee Gets Much Needed Insurance In The Seventh Inning
After jumping out to the 5-0 lead, Tennessee looked like it would coast to a run-rule victory. But the Vols’ bats went cold and Belmont found a way to scratch back in the game.
Blake Barton hit a home run in the fourth inning. Michael Lareau hit a home run in the fifth inning and Nolan Sergeant drove in a run with a groundout in the seventh inning.
That cut Tennessee’s lead to just two runs when it came to the plate in the bottom of the seventh. But the Vols gave themselves some leeway by scoring four runs in the bottom half.
Levi Clark drove in a run with a single to left field, Stone Lawless drove in a pair with a double to left field and Gavin Kilen drove in a run with a single to right. It was enough to put the game away.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball concludes the regular season this weekend in a three-game series at Arkansas. First pitch for the weekend set is at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday night at Baum-Walker Stadium. ESPN2 is broadcasting the game.
