KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Tuesday, the Tennessee Volunteers Baseball team welcomed the Alabama State Hornets to town for a midweek matchup.
Tennessee took the win here, by a final score of 10-2.
Junior right-hander AJ Russell took the mound to begin the game for Tennessee and retired the top of the Hornets’ lineup in order on just 9 pitches, striking out a pair.
Russell would go on to retire the first 5 Alabama State hitters, and his day would later end after 2.0 innings of work. He threw just 21 pitches before being replaced by Bryson Thacker.
I was able to catch up with AJ Russell after the game, and ask him what helped him work through the Hornets’ lineup so quickly.
He said, “Just attacking, getting strike one… working off of each pitch. They swung a little bit earlier in the count than I was expecting them to…”
If Russell continues to work through lineups at the pace he did tonight, it goes without saying that he will quickly see his role on the team inflate.
Thacker retired his first two hitters in just 3 pitches, but then issued a 4-pitch walk to Isaiah Landry.
He was pulled immediately.
Tony Vitello summoned Austin Breedlove from the bullpen to finish the 3rd inning. He did so seamlessly, getting Juan Cruz to fly out to Hunter Ensley.
For Alabama State, RHP Will Smith got the start. Smith allowed a pair of first-inning walks, but got Andrew Fischer to line into an unorthodox double play, ending the inning abruptly.
Smith’s control issues continued beyond the opening frame, as he would go on to issue another walk before his day ended after just 2.0 innings of work. Aside from the 3 walks, Smith’s outing was a good one. He allowed no hits and got a strikeout.
Smith was replaced by Trey Power to begin the bottom of the 3rd inning. Power also struggled to find the strike zone, giving his first opponent (Stone Lawless) a free trip to first base.
He would later give up another walk and 2 base hits to load the bases for Dalton Bargo. Bargo grounded out, and the score remained 0-0 after 3.
The Hornets were once again scoreless in the 4th inning, and the Vols finally gave their pitching staff some run support in the bottom half of the frame.
The 4th inning saw the Volunteers score 5 runs. Reese Chapman and Chris Newstrom hit back-to-back home runs.
After the game, I asked Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello how important it was for him to see Newstrom and his fellow freshman, Blake Grimmer, succeed at the plate tonight.
He told me, “… It is important, but I think what’s most important is to get [them] out there and get repetitions.”
It’s clear that Vitello plans to continue incorporating Grimmer and Newstrom into the lineup, especially in midweek games.
Trey Power then surrendered a walk to Jay Abernathy, ending his day. He was replaced by Jacob Loeffler, whose outing was not any smoother than Power’s.
Power collected the loss in the blowout.
Loeffler struck out Stone Lawless, but then gave up a 2-run home run to Dean Curley.
The Curley blast was followed by a single from Blake Grimmer and a Hunter Ensley walk.
Alabama State then turned the ball over to lefty Will Larson.
Unfortunately for Alabama State, Larson did not pitch any better than his Hornet counterparts.
Larson walked Andrew Fischer, then hurled a wild pitch, which allowed Grimmer to score.
He then walked Bargo and was promptly retrieved by his Head Coach, who turned to LHP Caleb Sanders.
Levi Clark, pinch-hitting for Reese Chapman, then scored Manny Marin (who was pinch-running for Ensley) on a sacrifice fly.
Chris Newstrom then doubled in Dalton Bargo and Hunter High (who was pinch-running for Andrew Fischer), and it was suddenly 8-0 Tennessee.
LHP Andrew Behnke pitched the top of the 5th inning for Tennessee, replacing Austin Breedlove.
Breedlove collected the pitching win, and Behnke retired the side in order.
Michael Sharman and Austin Hunley combined for a scoreless 6th, while Will Bartkoski hurled a shaky, but scoreless 6th for Alabama St.
Ryan Combs came in to pitch the 7th for Tennessee, and surrendered a solo home run to Wilbert Espinal, which made the score 8-1.
Javon Christian, Jose Almazan, and Jaxon Christensen together yielded two more runs in the 7th and 8th innings.
The Volunteers entered the final frame with a 10-1 lead, and Crabtree pitched the first out of the 9th.
Crabtree finished his outing having faced 4 batters, retiring each of them.
He was replaced by Nic Abraham, who got the final two outs for Tennessee, after giving up an RBI double to Wilbert Espinal.
Tennessee will travel to Oxford, Mississippi, for their next 3 games, as they will continue SEC play with a weekend series against Ole Miss. Alabama State, on the other hand, will travel home to Montgomery, Alabama, for a 3 game series against conference opponent Jackson State.