Tennessee baseball bounced back from its disappointing series finale at loss by jumping on Eastern Kentucky early and cruising to a 10-3 victory on Tuesday night. The Vols went deep into their bullpen while a group of young hitters had strong days.
Here’s how Tennessee got the job done against the Colonels.
Tennessee Jumps Out To A Big Lead In The Second Inning
Tennessee started slowly in the first inning, going down in order in the first inning. But the Vols jumped on Eastern Kentucky with a five-run second inning and didn’t look back.
Reese Chapman walked to lead off the inning before Manny Marin stayed hot with a single to left field. A double steal put both in-scoring position before Levi Clark drove them home with a single to centerfield. Jay Abernathy bounced back from a poor weekend with a single to centerfield before freshman Trent Grindlinger drove Clark home with a single.
Leadoff hitter Garrett Wright picked up his third RBI of the season with a single through the left side of the infield. The bases remained loaded with no one but Tennessee only added one more run via a Blaine Brown fielder’s choice.
While Tennessee could have done more damage, they still took control of the game in the second inning.
Taylor Tracey Makes His Third Straight Midweek Start
Josh Elander gave the ball to freshman Taylor Tracey for a third straight midweek game. The left hander wasn’t quite as sharp as he was the previous two outings but still kept Eastern Kentucky off the scoreboard in 2.1 innings pitched.
The first two innings were simple enough for Tracey as he retired the side around a two-out hit batter in both frames. But things got dicey in the third inning when Tracey allowed a leadoff single and hit his third batter of the day. He retired one batter before exiting the game in a 2-1 count.
Still, Tracey has allowed just one run and eight baserunners while striking out 17 batters in 8.2 innings pitched. We’ll see if he gets a weekend opportunity before too long.
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A Nice Day For A Group Of Sophomores
Tennessee’s talented group of sophomores had a nice afternoon with one Vol staying hot and two finding their footing after their cold streak.
Manny Marin extended his hit streak to seven games with his second inning two-RBI single. Then in the seventh inning, Marin extended his multi-hit streak to six games when he launched a two-run homer into the second deck of left field porches.
The infielder hit just three home runs in his freshman season, but his long ball against Eastern Kentucky was his fourth of the young season.
Levi Clark seemed to break out of his slump Sunday against Georgia and he followed it up with another solid day at the plate, going one-for-three with a walk. Jay Abernathy had a terrible weekend in Athens, failing to reach base and committing an error. He went two-for-four against Eastern Kentucky.
Tennessee is looking for its group of sophomores to step up. It was a nice day for that trio.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball is back in action Friday evening when the Vols open up a three-game series against Missouri at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. ET. The SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
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