HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee baseball overcame a fifth inning defensive debacle to coast past Alabama 15-10 in its SEC Tournament opener on Wednesday afternoon.
The Vols totaled 20 hits on their way to bashing past a bounty of Crimson Tide pitchers. Here’s how it went down.
Marcus Phillips Dominant Through Three Innings Before Things Get Shaky
What Marcus Phillips looked like trying to control the Alabama running game was one of the most intriguing storylines around his outing entering the game. But Phillips didn’t hardly let that become a story, retiring the first nine Alabama batters he faced.
Phillips did run into trouble in the fourth inning giving up a pair of doubles and a walk. But the right hander did a good job of limiting the damage, capitalizing on an Alabama base running mistake and getting a strikeout to strand the tying run on third base.
Despite steadying things in the fourth inning, it quickly got away from Phillips in the fifth inning when he allowed three straight runners to reach base, and one to score, to open the fifth inning and end his outing.
Disaster ensued for Tennessee after Phillips exit, but the right-hander’s performance was a mixed bag.
Dean Curley Throwing Error Leads To Things Spiraling In The Fifth Inning
Phillips exited with two-on and nobody out in the fifth inning. Tennessee was oh so close to getting out of the jam.
Brandon Arvidson did his job, coming in and striking out the lone batter he faced. AJ Russell then entered and struck out leadoff man Bryce Fowler to get the Vols an out a way from getting out of the trouble. Crimson Tide star Justin Lebron walked to load the bases but Russell was unfazed.
The junior induced a slow roller to second base from Kade Snell that should have ended the inning. But Dean Curley started to throw the ball to first before Andrew Fischer was at the bag. Realizing that, Curley yanked his throw allowing the runners from second and third to both score.
One batter later, Richie Bonomolo Jr gave Alabama its first lead of the game with a two-RBI double to left field. Tennessee should have been out of the inning but another Curley error proved costly.
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A Hit Barrage
Coming off one of its best offensive weekends of the last month, Tennessee’s bats stayed hot to open up postseason play against Alabama.
Tennessee didn’t hit for a ton of power, totaling just four extra-base hits, but they singled the Crimson Tide to death. The Vols totaled a season-high 20 hits and used it to score 15 runs.
There was production from just about everywhere. Hunter Ensley bounced back from a rough weekend in Fayetteville with a three-for-five performance, hitting a RBI double and later reaching on an error.. Levi Clark kept his hot streak going with three hits including a RBI double. The only time Alabama retired Clark came on a leaping catch at the wall on centerfield. The fly out would have been a home run at nearly any other ballpark.
Gavin Kilen and Dalton Bargo both had opposite field, shift beating RBI singles with two outs while Cannon Peebles had three hits and two RBI hits. Reese Chapman totaled two hits including the Vols’ only long ball with a two-run shot to right field in the eighth inning.
All nine Tennessee starters recorded hits, eight totaled multiple hits, a trio totaled three hits and seven drove in runs. It was a complete performance from Tennessee’s offense.
Another Strong AJ Russell Outing
The start of AJ Russell’s outing was rocky because of the debacle surrounding Curley’s throwing error. But from there, Russell got on a role.
Russell sat down Alabama’s lineup in order in both the fifth and the sixth innings, adding three strikeouts in those two innings. The Crimson Tide finally did some damage off of Russell in the ninth inning with back-to-back hits to end his day. Both those runs came home to give him two earned runs on his card, making his day look worse than it actually was.
The right-handed pitcher ended his day with 3.2 innings pitched, allowing four hits (one on a bunt) and a walk while striking out five batters. Russell threw a season-high 78 pitches. Safe to say he’s all the way back from that standpoint.
It was the third straight really strong relief appearance for Russell. Maybe most importantly, his fastball velocity remained in the mid 90s even after he had thrown 40-plus pitches.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball advances to the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals where they’ll face top-seeded Texas Thursday afternoon. First pitch is at 4 p.m. ET and the SEC Network is broadcasting the game.
