By Jack Glennon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Sunday, the Tennessee Volunteers concluded a three-game home weekend series against the Samford Bulldogs with a 11-1 win in 7 innings, completing the series sweep.
The visiting Bulldogs started off hot, with a leadoff home run by middle infielder Jeffrey Ince. It would not take long for the Volunteers to close the gap. A 2nd inning fielding error cost Samford 2 runs, and the Volunteers never looked back.
Samford started the 3rd inning with a base hit, which knocked Tennessee starter Brandon Arvidson out of the game. Arvidson finished the game with 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 K, and no walks.
The Vols then turned to Austin Hunley, who gave up another hit but eventually got out of the 3rd without allowing Samford to cross the plate. He also pitched a scoreless 4th, en route to his 2nd pitching win so far this season. He gave up 2 hits, and struck out 2, finishing with 31 pitches in the 2-inning outing.
After the game, I was able to ask Hunley if he was comfortable with the workload he had today, and he told me that he is, “comfortable doin[g] whatever”. Hunley’s flexibility may prove to be extremely valuable down the line for the Vols, who do not necessarily have a bona-fide starting rotation.
A strong 4th inning had the Vols scoring 5 runs by way of back-to-back home runs and a throwing error by Samford RF Angelo Prieto. With runners on first and second, Gavin Kilen shot his second home run of the season past the scoreboard and into the right field parking lot. Hunter Ensley followed with a solo home run. Andrew Fischer was then hit by a pitch and promptly driven in by a Manny Marin double, combined with another Samford fielding error. The Vols left the 4th with a 7-1 lead.
The Vols added two runs to their total in both the 5th and 6th innings, including the game’s second set of back-to-back home runs, this time from Levi Clark and Stone Lawless.
Clark’s home run marked the 3rd of his first season with Tennessee, and after the game I asked Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello if we can expect to see more of Clark moving forward. He told me, “Yeah, I think so… What more of him is, I don’t know… just need to find the right combination… one day may be different than another.”
After the game, I asked Stone Lawless how being comfortable at the plate and having the game slow down for him factors into his plate discipline and getting good pitches to hit late in at-bats. He told me, “…If you’re sped up, you don’t really see spin… everything’s just kind of blended together… overall, if you’re slowing it down, the velocity slows down as well”. It will be interesting to see if Lawless is able to continue to slow the game down, or if conference play will prove too challenging.
The Vols, now 7-0, now shift their focus to North Alabama (3-3), who they will host at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday.