By Corinne Muth
Tennessee baseball dropped its first nonconference series in six years last weekend. Needing a bounce-back performance, Josh Elander’s squad gets back on track with a gutsy 5-3 victory over Arizona State.
After dropping their first game of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series to No. 1 UCLA 12-5, the Volunteers rallied and gained redemption in Arlington.
Tennessee (7-3) wasted no time getting on the scoreboard versus the Sun Devils during the opening innings.
In the second inning, UT had four runs on five hits, already setting the tone against a battered Colin Linder of Arizona State (8-3). Reese Chapman scored after a Chris Newstrom double to left-center; this surge would prove fatal and carry the Volunteers through the rest of the game.
“I like to bring the energy, it’s really just a side effect of me having fun,” said Tennessee pitcher Landon Mack, who picked up his second win of the season with five innings of work.
The sophomore transfer also notched five strikeouts in his 23 batters faced.
The Tennessee defense showed out in many innings by not allowing the Arizona State offense baserunners. For six of the nine innings, the Sun Devils struggled to reach base. The Vols’ pitching staff was on point – notching 10 strikeouts.
Holding its ground at 4-0 for the first half of the game, the Volunteers allowed Arizona State to creep back into contention with a fourth-inning momentum swing. The Sun Devils would plate two runs on three hits to bring the game to 4-2, with Sun Devils Dominic Longo and Dean Toigo able to score from second base off hard-hit balls.
Landon Hairston would score the last run for the Sun Devils in the seventh, inching the score ever closer at 4-3.
The Volunteers were able to close out the game with an additional run of insurance in the top of the ninth. Blaine Brown would reach base on a double to right-center and advance to third on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly would bring the left fielder home.
“I thought the guys did a good job stringing together some good swings,” said Elander. “Our guys were on the attack and executed from the jump.”
UP NEXT: Tennessee continues its weekend in Texas with its final game of theAmegy Bank College Baseball Series Sunday, with the Volunteers facing Virginia Tech at 11:30 EST.