By Garon Bach
A defensive duel ended with offensive fireworks as the No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers walked off the Kent State Golden Flashes in an epic early-season showdown.
It took a home run from man of the hour and Walters State transfer Tyler Myatt to close this one out for the Volunteers in a 4-3 victory.
“[The walkoff] was awesome, I got in the box and I was calm. Normally, I’m kinda upbeat, ready to go. But, it kind of felt different that AB,” Myatt said postgame.
The Game
Through the first 2 ½ innings, the bats were quiet as Vols’ sophomore RHP Tegan Kuhns did not allow a hit while Kent State’s Ciaran Caughey had allowed only one.
In the bottom of the third, the Volunteers had a great opportunity to take control of the game as the bases were loaded with only one out. However, an infield fly by C Stone Lawless and a strikeout by Manny Marin ended Tennessee’s threat.
Kent State responded with a scoring threat of their own in the top of the fourth as Sophomore OF Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe got on base thanks to being hit by a pitch. The Golden Flashes converted their opportunity thanks to SS Luke Matthews’ single scoring Rienstra-Kiracofe from second.
Two innings later, the Volunteer offense started heating up as a sac-fly to right by Marin scored a run and then two batters later Jay Abernathy’s two-run shot to right put Tennessee ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth.
The Golden Flashes bounced back with a run in the eighth and the game-tying run in the ninth. Tied 3-3, the Tennessee bats came up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
The reigning NJCAA DI Baseball Player of the Year came to the plate for only his eighth time this season.
He made his appearance matter.
On the third pitch he saw he sent it high into the night with a 434-foot moonshot, putting the win back into the Vols column.
“I think honestly, we kind of stole one tonight. It’s a really good team. They’re coached very well and some older players that are very talented and not scared, and have been tested over the years, Tennessee Head Coach Josh Elander said. “And again, I think we had nine free 90 feet we gave up tonight. So that’s the opposite of the MO we’ve been preaching.”
Stats & Notables
Starting Pitchers
Tennessee: RHP Tegan Kuhns pitched 5.2 allowing one run, one hit, and had four strikeouts.
Kent State: RHP Ciaran Caughey had four innings pitched, allowing two hits, and also finished with four strikeouts.
WP: RHP Brady Frederick. .2 IP resulting in two groundouts that stopped the Golden Flashes opportunity for the go-ahead run.
Hit by Pitch Problems
In Tennessee’s first four games this season, no pitcher had hit a batter this season. On Friday night, it was six. Six HBP ties a program record dating back to the 2017 season. Kuhns had three of plunks while the remaining relievers had three.
No Flash from the Bats
Tennessee’s arms and stellar defense held Kent State to 4-31 at the plate. Entering this weekend, the Golden Flashes had a .285 average and were outhitting opponents 39-38. If Tennessee’s pitchers were able to keep runners off the bases with HBP and walks, this one may not have been as close.
Look Ahead
Tennessee (5-0) hopes to continue its strong start tomorrow, as the Golden Flashes (3-2) and Volunteers square off in game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. with RHP Landon Mack or LHP Evan Blanco taking the bump for Tennessee, while Kent State has RHP Easton Tumis in line for the start.
The remaining games can be streamed on the SEC Network+.