SCORE: Tennessee 10, Alabama 0 | FINAL (8 inn. Run-Rule, series tied 1-1)

***SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED***

Tennessee baseball (27-15, 8-11 SEC) is set to battle the No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide (29-14, 10-9 SEC) Friday in game two of a three-game series in Knoxville.

First pitch at Lindsey Nelson Stadium is at 2:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.

Friday afternoon’s game serves as game one of a doubleheader to finish the series due to inclement weather projected in the Knoxville area Saturday. More details HERE.

Alabama won game one Thursday in LNS, 12-8.

For a full preview of the series, including first pitch times, broadcast details and a prediction, click HERE.

Tennessee entered the weekend needing a series win but will have to sweep the doubleheader to do so. The Vols suffered a series-opening loss due to unbelievably poor pitching. Landon Mack struggled in 2.1 innings of work before Cam Appenzeller wasn’t sharp again out of the bullpen.

Mark Hindy and Brady Frederick had awful bullpen outings, and while Nic Abraham and Brayden Krenzel had moments, the pitching staff as a whole failed Tennessee. Volunteer arms allowed 10 walks and six hit-by-pitches, leading to head coach Josh Elander saying it is ‘impossible’ to win offering that many free passes.

GAME ONE RECAP: Tennessee Baseball’s Pitching Falters In Series-Opening Loss Against Alabama

Offense has plagued Tennessee for the majority of the season, but UT out-hit Alabama 11-10 Friday. Uncharacteristic outings from Mack and Appenzeller combined with continued disappointment from bullpen arms such as Frederick and Hindy led to the defeat. Tennessee must have good-to-great pitching in both games Friday in order to pull off the doubleheader sweep.

Winning one game feels like a must for Tennessee as it continues to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume. If Alabama sweeps Tennessee, next weekend’s series at Kentucky becomes a must-win.

BRACKETOLOGY: Where Tennessee Baseball Is Projected To Land In Latest Bracketology Updates

Tennessee is yet to be swept this season. The Vols own a series sweep over Mississippi State and series win against Missouri. LSU, Ole Miss and Georgia have all taken two-of-three against Tennessee while Vanderbilt swept the Vols.

Opponent Scout

When Alabama defeated Oklahoma in a three-game series three weekends ago, they improved to 8-4 in SEC play and looked like a true SEC title contender this season.

But things have gone sideways since then. Arkansas swept Alabama in Tuscaloosa two weeks ago before Texas took two of three over the Crimson Tide in Austin. Both of those teams are better SEC opponents, but it is still not a strong showing.

Alabama also dropped its midweek matchup against UAB, 11-2, earlier this week. The Crimson Tide’s offense has been particularly shaky, scoring just six runs in their last four games.

• 2025 Record: 41-18 (16-14 SEC)
• 2025 Postseason: NCAA Hattiesburg Regional (0-2)
• 2026 SEC Preseason Poll: 12^th  
• Head Coach: Rob Vaughn
  • Overall Record: 285-173 (9^th year)
  • Record at UA: 102-56 (3^rd year)
• Preseason All-Conference Selections (1):
  • SS Justin LeBron (1^st Team)

SERIES HISTORY

• Overall: Alabama leads, 81-48
• In Knoxville: Alabama leads, 26-24
• In Tuscaloosa: Alabama leads, 49-21
• At Neutral Sites: Alabama leads, 6-3
• Last 10 Meetings: Tennessee leads, 6-4
• Last Meeting: May 21, 2025 (W, 15-10 in Hoover, Ala.)

Info courtesy UT Athletics in italics

Prediction: Tennessee wins one.

I picked Tennessee to win the series. Mack and Appenzeller have been major letdowns in the last two weeks after carrying Tennessee’s pitching staff the first half of the season. The Vols scored eight runs Friday. With this staff, that should be an auto win.

Tennessee still has good arms to throw Saturday. If all are on, Kuhns, Arvidson, Blanco, Rhudy and Day can absorb 54 outs. Can the offense remain consistent? We will see.

It’s incredible difficult to sweep a doubleheader, and this team isn’t prone to pulling off difficult tasks. But with the way Kuhns and Blanco have been throwing, UT takes at least one.

For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, click here.

For the latest RTI Diamond Pass podcast discussing the Ole Miss series, click HERE.

WATCH: Tennessee Baseball HC Josh Elander Discusses Series-Opening Loss to Alabama, Pitching Struggles

Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.

TENNESSEE STARTING NINE: 

ALABAMA STARTING NINE: 

SS Justin Lebron (R)

2B Brennan Holt (L)

RF Brady Neal (L)

CF Bryce Fowler (L)

DH Eric Hines (R)

C John Lemm (L)

3B Jason Torres (R)

1B Andrew Purdy (L)

LF Peyton Steele (R)

Pitching Matchup:

Vols So. RHP Tegan Kuhns (2-3, 3.35 ERA, 10 app., 9 starts, 51.0 IP, 47 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 10 BB, 64 K, 17 XBH, .236 opp. batting avg., 1.12 WHIP)

vs.

Crimson Tide Jr. LHP Zane Adams (4-2, 3.67 ERA, 10 app., 10 starts, 54.0 IP, 51 H, 24 R, 22 ER, 15 BB, 59 K, 13 XBH, .249 opp. batting avg., 1.22 WHIP)

Pitching Notes:

• Kuhns has been unbelievable the past two weeks. He’ll aim to continue rolling after tossing 5.2 scoreless last week.
• Adams, an Alabama veteran, has had a solid year so far. Coming off his best outing of the year, tossing 6.0 scoreless vs. Texas.
  • Has been touched up some, too. Allowed 5 R in 4.0 IP vs. UK, 4 in 4.2 IP vs. Oregon State and 4 in 5.0 IP vs. Oklahoma.
  • Adams is a really good SEC arm, but not overly dominant. Usually throws around 100 pitches. Hasn’t logged more than 6.0 innings or 107 pitches this season.

Uniforms

Tennessee: Orange tops, white pants

Alabama: Crimson tops with grey pants and crimson caps

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*NOTES*

• Run-rule is MANDATORY in SEC play. If Tennessee or Alabama leads by 10 or more runs at the end of the seventh inning or later, the game is over.

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GAME THREAD

1st Inning: 

T1

-Justin Lebron flies out to RF.

-Brennan Holt strikes out swinging.

-Brady Neal flies out to LF.

END OF TOP HALF

B1

-Garrett Wright flies out to CF.

-Henry Ford flies out to CF.

• Hard hit

-Blake Grimmer grounds out to 2B.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 0, Crimson Tide 0

2nd Inning: 

T2

-Bryce Fowler flies out to LF.

-Eric Hines cracks a single up the middle.

-John Lemm grounds out to 3B.

-Jason Torres works a walk.

-Andrew Purdy lines out to 2B.

END OF TOP HALF

B2

-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging.

-Trent Grindlinger smacks a solo homer to right center.

• In the air a long time. Carried out and was into the wind.
• 387 feet, 105 mph
• 4th HR of the season

-Manny Marin grounds out to 3B.

-Blaine Brown singles up the middle.

• 111 mph off the bat

-Levi Clark flies out to CF.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 1, Crimson Tide 0

3rd Inning: 

T3

-Peyton Steele strikes out looking.

-Justin Lebron grounds out to 3B.

-Brennan Holt grounds out to 2B up the middle.

• Really nice play by Blake Grimmer to turn around and make the throw after fielding the grounder up the middle.

END OF TOP HALF

B3

-Jay Abernathy HBP.

-Garrett Wright singles to right field. Abernathy to second.

-Henry Ford drives an RBI double down the left-field line. Abernathy scores. Wright to third.

• First pitch of the at-bat.

-Blake Grimmer flies out to LF.

-Reese Chapman sends an RBI groundout to 2B. Ford to third.

-Trent Grindlinger ropes an RBI single off the left-field wall. Ford scores.

-Manny Marin singles through the left side.

• First pitch of the at-bat.
• Six hits for Tennessee so far.

-Blaine Brown out at first 1B to P.

• Another rocket off the bat with nothing to show for it.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 4, Crimson Tide 0

4th Inning: 

T4

-Brady Neal strikes out swinging.

-Bryce Fowler singles to left field.

-Eric Hines strikes out swinging.

• 7-pitch at-bat

Fowler advances to second on a throwing error by P, failed pickoff attempt.

-John Lemm strikes out looking.

• Only 47 pitches through four for Kuhns. Building another strong outing.

END OF TOP HALF

B4

-Levi Clark grounds out to 2B.

-Jay Abernathy works a walk.

-Garrett Wright strikes out swinging. Jay Abernathy out on interference.

• Ruled Wright interfered with the throw trying to catch Jay stealing second.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 4, Crimson Tide 0

5th Inning: 

T5

-Jason Torres strikes out swinging.

-Andrew Purdy grounds out to 2B.

-Peyton Steele strikes out swinging.

END OF TOP HALF

B5

-Henry Ford flies out to RF.

-Blake Grimmer works a walk.

• 10-pitch walk

-Reese Chapman grounds out to 2B. Grimmer to second.

-Trent Grindlinger intentionally walked.

• 2-0 count

-Manny Marin strikes out swinging, out at first C to 1B.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 4, Crimson Tide 0

6th Inning: 

T6

-Justin Lebron strikes out looking.

-Brennan Holt grounds out to 2B.

-Brady Neal flares a single to shallow center.

• Breaks a streak of seven straight retired for Kuhns

-Bryce Fowler grounds out to 1B unassisted.

• More dominance from Kuhns. 3 H 0 R 1 BB 8 K through 6.0 IP on only 76 pitches. Elite.

END OF TOP HALF

B6

-Blaine Brown singles to right field.

Brown steals second

-Levi Clark strikes out swinging.

-Jay Abernathy works a walk.

*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Austin Morris in to pitch for Adams*

-Garrett Wright works a walk.

• Bases loaded with one out for Henry Ford.

-Henry Ford reaches on an RBI fielder’s choice to 3B. Brown scores. Wright out at second, 5-4. Abernathy advances to second, scores on a throwing error by 2B.

• Bama tried to turn two, throw was wide. Ford wasn’t going to be thrown out anyway, but Abernathy scored due to the error.

-Blake Grimmer grounds out to 1B unassisted.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 6, Crimson Tide 0

7th Inning: 

T7

-Eric Hines grounds out to 3B.

• Awesome play by Ford. Bare hand fields the ball and fires to first in time. So smooth.

-John Lemm flies out to RF at the warning track.

-Jason Torres grounds out to 3B.

• Kuhns has retired 11 of his last 12. Elite.
• 7-pitch inning. He may be able to go CG.

END OF TOP HALF

B7

-Reese Chapman grounds out to 2B.

-Trent Grindlinger HBP.

-Manny Marin works a walk. Grindlinger to second.

-Blaine Brown reaches on a fielder’s choice to 1B. Marin safe at second due to a throwing error by 1B. Grindlinger to third, scores on the throwing error.

-Levi Clark reaches on an RBI fielder’s choice to 3B. Brown out at second 5-4. Marin scores.

• Alabama challenged the call at first and the ruling was upheld.
• Tennessee challenged the call at second and the ruling was upheld.
• Both teams have one challenge remaining.

*Pitching change: LHP Evan Steckmesser (1-0, 4.58 ERA) in to pitch for Morris*

-Jay Abernathy fouls out to 3B.

END OF BOTTOM HALF

Score: Vols 8, Crimson Tide 0

8th Inning: 

T8

-Andrew Purdy strikes out swinging.

-Peyton Steele grounds out to 3B.

-Justin Lebron grounds out to 3B.

END OF TOP HALF

B8

-Garrett Wright flies out to CF.

-Henry Ford works a walk.

-Blake Grimmer sends a single up the middle. Ford to second.

-Reese Chapman drills an RBI double to left field. Grimmer to third, Ford scores.

-Trent Grindlinger intentionally walked.

-Manny Marin bounces an RBI groundout to SS to walk it off.

END OF GAME

Score: Vols 10, Crimson Tide 0

FINAL: Tennessee Vols 10, Alabama Crimson Tide 0 (8 inn. run-rule)