By Jay King
The BaseVols get their sixth straight win to start the season as they defeat the Samford Bulldogs 7-3 in the second game in the weekend series. The Vols looked like they were on upset watch as it took them until the bottom of the eighth to take the lead.
The turning point in this game was a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth by true freshman Levi Clark when he came in as a pinch hitter. The Vols then got a 1-2-3 inning to ice the game. Clark’s rundown of how he saw it was “Coach V told me to be ready… came in, bases loaded one out, just trying to do it for the guy next to you, you know… you want to make them throw a pitch right where you want it.”
The pitching in this game was very good as well. Marcus Phillips got the start and threw for 4.2 innings, getting eight strikeouts, and only one earned run. Nate Snead came in and picked up where Phillips left off. Snead threw for the last 4.1 innings and tallied up six strikeouts, without allowing a single walk, or an earned run. (The two other runs were off of errors.) Snead was the one who got credited with the win.
After having to come in after Clark’s grand slam, Snead said this about keeping calm to end the game, “Knowing that the guys got your back and you know what you got to do when you go back out there? It’s a really simple process. It makes, takes a lot of weight off your shoulder to come knowing they did that.”
Other noteworthy players were Left Fielder Dalton Bargo who had a home run in the bottom of the sixth, and Designated Hitter Jay Abernathy who had two hits, one of which was a double.
When asked about the major production from Abernathy and Clark, both true freshmen, Head Coach Tony Vitello had this to say about them, “[Jay’s] just a competitor. And obviously, he’s got other skills you guys are starting to figure out. But he and Levi are both really, really competitive. And there’s other freshmen that are similar, too, a couple more… I’ve kind of thrown in the towel on some of those guys being freshmen… as far as being, you know, confident in their abilities and being competitive and having been in moments, you know, like a game like today… they’ve already been doing it, and they’ve shown what they can do.”
The Vols’ next home game is Sunday, February 23rd, as they face off against the Samford Bulldogs in a potential series sweep at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.