ARLINGTON, Tex – No. 20 Tennessee baseball suffered a 12-5 loss to No. 1 UCLA in Arlington, Texas, Friday at Globe Life Field.
Despite a four-run sixth inning, a career day from Chris Newstrom and 10 strikeouts from starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns, UCLA blasted five homers on 10 hits against the Vols’ pitching staff, leading to a fairly dominant win for the Bruins.
Tennessee’s defense struggled again, too, committing three errors in the loss. The Vols have committed eight combined errors in their last three losses.
Here’s how Tennessee suffered its third loss in the last four games to kickoff its three-game stretch in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series.
Kuhns’ K-filled Outing Marred by Homers
Tennessee starter Tegan Kuhns was great to begin his third outing of the season. The sophomore sat the top of UCLA’s lineup down in order in the first inning on nine pitches.
UCLA scored a run in the second, but it was unearned. Through two frames, Kuhns had given up one hit, struck out four and was in complete command.
While Kuhns’ strikeout tally continued to rise to career-high status, a trio of long balls left a considerable blemish on his outing.
After star shortstop Roch Cholowsky doubled down the left-field line with two outs in the third, Mulivai Levu sent a 112 mph-rocket to right field for a two-run shot.
In the fourth, right-fielder Payton Brennan annihilated a baseball 435 feet to left field for a leadoff homer.
Kuhns’ day ended in the seventh after UCLA center-fielder Will Gasparino cranked a 436-foot leadoff homer. The Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, native finished with a career-high 10 strikeouts and walked none but allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits, including three home runs and two doubles.
Kuhns didn’t allow many baserunners, but UCLA’s five extra-base hits told the story of his outing.
“I think he was competing with four pitches,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said regarding Kuhns’ outing. “Had the curveball going, slider was good tonight, threw a couple good right-on-right change-ups – I know Roch (Cholowsky) got a good swing on one down the line – but just competing in the strike zone. If a guy gets tagged and gives up a two-run homer. You can live with that, right?”
Sixth-Inning Surge
Tennessee’s offense struggled mightily for the first five innings Saturday afternoon, mustering two baserunners on two hits.
But the Vols found life in the sixth. Sophomore Chris Newstrom kickstarted the massive inning with a leadoff homer to left field, his first long ball of the season.
A Jay Abernathy walk and Henry Ford single spelled the end for Bruins’ starter Logan Reddemann. But it didn’t spell the end for Tennessee’s momentum.
Reese Chapman worked a great at-bat against UCLA reliever Ian May to load the bases, and Tyler Myatt came through.
The Tazewell, Tennessee, native drilled a two-run single up the middle to cut UCLA’s lead to two, and Stone Lawless kept things going with an RBI single to make it a one-run game.
After five innings of lifelessness, Tennessee suddenly made it anyone’s game. But UCLA kept blasting its way to victory.
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Seventh-Inning Collapse
UCLA responded to Tennessee’s sixth-inning four-spot with a seventh-inning six-spot as Tennessee’s bullpen collapsed.
After Gasparino’s homer chased Kuhns, star left-hander Brandon Arvidson took the mound for Tennessee. A one-out hit-by-pitch and two-out single put runners on the corners, and third-baseman Roman Martin blew the game open with a 379-foot three-run wall-scraper to left field.
Freshmen Sawyer Deering and Taylor Tracey succeeded Arvidson on the mound. Deering hit a batter and walked another before giving the ball to Tracey, who gave up an RBI single. An error allowed UCLA’s sixth run to score in the frame, extending Tennessee’s deficit to seven.
“When you don’t compete over the white, and you walk guys, hit by pitches, free 90s all over the place – I think we had eight-plus after Tegan came out of the game – that’s never going to be a recipe for success,” Elander said when looking back on the final innings.
Sophomore Nic Abraham recorded the final six outs of the game. Gasparino took Abraham deep for his second long ball of the game with one out in the ninth.
Chris Newstrom’s Career Day
Chris Newstrom was the bright spot for Tennessee in the loss. Newstrom went 3-4 at the plate, including a home run and triple, leaving him a double shy of the cycle.
Beyond his sixth-inning homer, Newstrom’s seventh-inning leadoff triple resulted in Tennessee’s fifth and final run, as Ford brought him home with an RBI groundout.
Newstrom has largely struggled at the plate so far this season (hitting .167 before Friday) and has recently been in-and-out of the lineup, making Friday’s performance a welcomed addition to Tennessee’s offensive production.
“Just playing baseball. That’s it,” Elander said regarding Newstrom’s big day. “If you go into it hoping to have success, that’s not a formula for success in this league or against an opponent like UCLA. We want our guys to cut it loose and play ball. It was cool seeing him do that tonight.”
Poor Defense Plagues Tennessee Again
Poor defense was a major storyline in Tennessee’s series loss to Kent State last weekend. It was again in the loss to UCLA.
In the second, Ford short-hopped a throw to Levi Clark at first, allowing a two-out baserunner to reach. The runner quickly scored thanks to a Cashel Dugger RBI double.
In the fifth, a poor throw by Ford allowed nine-hole hitter Dominic Cadiz to reach to open the frame. A sac bunt, Stone Lawless passed ball and sac fly later, Cadiz scored to extend UCLA’s lead to five runs.
Tennessee has not played clean defensively in the last week-and-change as a whole, but Ford has especially made some costly errors.
Abernathy committed Tennessee’s third and final error in the seventh, rifling an errant throw towards UCLA’s dugout which allowed a run to score.
Up Next
Tennessee is back at it early Saturday against Arizona State. First pitch in Globe Life Field is at 12:00 p.m. ET. FloCollege has the stream.
