NASHVILLE – No. 21 Tennessee baseball (18-9, 3-5 SEC) was walked off for the second straight game as Vanderbilt (16-12, 3-5 SEC) clinched the series with a 6-5 win in 16 innings Saturday.
Commodores’ Mack Whitcomb beautifully executed a squeeze play with the bases loaded and one out in the 16th to walk it off.
Tennessee’s loss came in the longest game of program history. The Vols had played five 14 inning games previously.
UT’s pitching was tremendous in the defeat, as the Vols’ staff did not walk a batter for the first 15.1 innings and recorded 14 scoreless innings.
Both teams scored a run in just one inning before the final frame, as Vandy recorded a five-spot in the fourth before Tennessee tallied five in the sixth.
Here’s how it happened in the four-and-a-half-plus hour game.
Offense No-Hit Through Five… Again
Like Friday, Tennessee’s offense struggled to find any momentum at the plate for the first five innings.
The Vols were no-hit through five for the second straight game and had only two baserunners.
Vanderbilt freshman starting pitcher Wyatt Nadeau had very little issue with Tennessee’s hitters early, needing just 65 pitches to get through the five no-hit frames.
Things Spiral in the Fourth
Tennessee starting pitcher Landon Mack was solid through three innings, working around a pair of baserunners in the first and third innings while recording a 1-2-3 second.
A pair of singles put two on with two outs in the first, but Mack struck out Logan Johnstone to end the frame. A leadoff hit-by-pitch and two-out single gave Vandy two baserunners in the third, but Mack delivered a big strikeout to Vanderbilt star third baseman Braden Holcomb to strand two more.
In the fourth, however, things spiraled for Mack and Tennessee as Vanderbilt scored five runs with one out.
Tyler Myatt committed an ugly throwing error on a Rustan Rigdon ground ball to allow a one-out baserunner before Reese Chapman let a Chris Maldonado base-hit to go past his glove to the right-field wall.
Chapman’s error scored Rigdon and allowed Maldonado to reach third. Eight-hole hitter Ryker Waite then quickly added to the lead with a no-doubt two-run homer to right field.
A Korbin Reynolds double prompted UT pitching coach Josh Reynolds to talk to Mack, but things got worse as Vandy left-fielder Mike Mancini crushed a two-run homer over the monster in left field.
The damage stopped there, but Tennessee found itself in a 5-0 hole as its offense continued to struggle.
Until it didn’t.
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Vols Respond With Five-Spot in the Sixth
Five runs seemed like an insurmountable deficit to overcome given the way Tennessee’s offense fared through five frames.
But suddenly, UT got to Nadeau with a five-spot in the sixth.
Clark was plunked to open the inning before Garrett Wright singled. Both runners advanced to second and third on a fielding error by the left fielder, allowing Blake Grimmer to drive both home with a two-run single to right field.
Manny Marin singled to keep the rally going, and Henry Ford provided the big moment by powering a three-run homer just over the left-center wall to tie the game.
Ford’s 9th blast of the season traveled 388 feet and silenced the home crowd.
Despite an awful start offensively and allowing five runs in the fourth, Tennessee made it anyone’s game heading into the back half of the contest.
Offense Re-Enters Doldrums, Misses Opportunities in Extras
Tennessee’s offense re-entered the doldrums after the five-run sixth, as the Vols did not have multiple baserunners in any inning from the seventh through the 12th.
Tennessee had a runner on in every inning of the 6-inning stretch – except the 10th – but never found any rhythm. The Vols had a pair on in the 13th, 14th and 15th but never got one across.
Vanderbilt reliever Tyler Baird dealt five scoreless innings before Nate Schlote got the ball to begin the 12th.
Schlote handled the 12th easily before getting a key groundout to strand two in the 13th and striking out Marin to strand a pair in the 14th.
Luke Guth pitched the 15th and worked around a one-out single and a walk. It was the first time Tennessee was able to really threaten since the sixth, but Lawless grounding out on a bunt with runners on the corners killed momentum. Abernathy grounded out to end the frame.
Garrett Wright singled and worked his way to third on a pair of wild pitches in the 16th, but Marin struck out against Vandy reliever Nate Taylor to once again strand a runner.
In extras, Tennessee stranded five in scoring position and nine total.
Appenzeller Relieves Mack and Shoves
Star freshman lefty Cam Appenzeller relieved Mack after the sophomore worked around a one-out single in the fifth.
Mack finished his seventh outing of the season allowing five runs – four earned – on eight hits and struck out nine. After walking 11 total batters in the past three games, Mack issued none on Saturday and just one hit-by-pitch.
Outside of the fourth, Mack was good and the number of free passes decreased considerably.
Appenzeller has been Tennessee’s best arm in conference play, and it was more of the same Saturday.
The Illinois native faced the minimum in the sixth thanks to Chapman hosing Mancini for out number three, as the Vandy leadoff man tried to turn a single into a double.
Appenzeller sat the Dores down in order in the seventh and eighth and faced the minimum through his first three innings.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pounder ran into some adversity in the ninth, allowing a pair of one-out singles but got two big outs to force extras.
He bounced back with a five-pitch 1-2-3 10th and retired the side around a one-out double in the 11th, retiring Manicini for the first time to end the inning.
Appenzeller’s incredible day was done after the 11th. The stud right-hander allowed no runs on four hits allowed in a career-high 6.0 IP while striking out four on 68 pitches.
The freshman has allowed no runs and eight hits in 13.1 innings against SEC competition this season while walking one and striking out 13.
Vandy Walks It Off in Consecutive Games
Vanderbilt clinched the series with a walk-off 6-5 win in the 16th to earn a second consecutive walk-off victory. The Commodores won game one Friday 3-2 in 10 innings.
Right-hander Bo Rhudy relieved Appenzeller to begin the 12th and was phenomenal for three innings. The Kennesaw State transfer retired all nine he faced and recorded two strikeouts.
Righty Brady Frederick relieved Rhudy to begin the 15th and worked around a leadoff single with help from Lawless who caught a runner stealing.
But in the 16th, Frederick issued back-to-back one-out walks before giving way to Brayden Krenzel.
Tennessee pitchers hadn’t walked a Commodore before Frederick’s pair in the 15th, as they pitched 15.1 innings – recorded 46 outs – before offering a walk.
Tennessee then intentionally walked Ryker Waite after a double steal to load the bases with one out, and Mack Whitcomb executed a perfect squeeze play to walk it off, bouncing a bunt towards the left side of the mound to score Rigdon.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to salvage the series Sunday at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
One Response
Why did Tennessee bunt with one out and runners on first and third in the 15th or 16th inning. that was not smart coaching