by Jack Glennon
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After a 6-1 loss in game one of Tennessee Baseball’s Saturday doubleheader with the visiting Auburn Tigers, the Volunteers bounced back and won game two.
They won 5-4 in a game that took two days and 11 innings to complete.
The Tigers picked up right where they left off in the first game, scoring 2 runs on 3 hits in the opening frame.
Marcus Phillips took the mound in this game for Tennessee, and he allowed the aforementioned 1st inning runs to score on a pair of RBI singles.
Ike Irish drove in the first run of the game, slashing a single to left to bring home Auburn’s leadoff man Chris Rembert, who doubled earlier in the inning.
Irish later scored on a similar RBI knock from Designated Hitter Lucas Steele.
So, right-hander Cam Tilly took the mound with some early run support for the Tigers, and hurled a scoreless 1st inning.
Phillips responded with a scoreless 2nd to keep the Tigers at bay.
In the home half of the 2nd, Hunter Ensley and Levi Clark each singled to put two on for the Volunteers with only one out.
The Vols were unable to capitalize, as Chapman flew out to left, and Peebles socked a ground ball right back to Tilly, resulting in a 1-3 putout.
Phillips threw a scoreless 3rd, and his offense gave him run support for the first time in what has seemed like months.
The 3rd inning rally for Tennessee began when Manny Marin doubled off of the left-center field wall to lead off the inning.
A pair of walks by Curley and Fischer then loaded the bases for Hunter Ensley.
Ensley chipped a gap-shot into right-center field, plating a pair, and tying the game at 2-2.
That ended Tilly’s day and prompted Auburn Head Coach Butch Thompson to summon Carson Myers out of the bullpen.
Myers finished the inning, stranding Andrew Fischer at third.
Phillips loaded the bases by giving up two walks and a base hit in the 4th inning, but worked around it, keeping the score tied.
Myers matched the effort with his own scoreless inning.
With one out in the 5th, Tony Vitello made a move to the bullpen, bringing in lefty Dylan Loy to face Cooper McMurray.
Loy immediately allowed Ike Irish to steal 3rd, and then score on a wild pitch. Irish’s second run of the game made it 3-2, Auburn.
Myers gave up 2 hits in the 5th, but Tennessee stranded them both, on back-to-back strikeouts from Dalton Bargo and Levi Clark.
Loy then threw a scoreless 6th, keeping the Volunteers within one of the Tigers.
However, Tennessee failed to score after a 1-out double, and Auburn held onto its 3-2 lead heading into the final third of the ballgame.
Loy continued to keep the Volunteers in the game, retiring the side in order in the top of the 7th.
The bottom of the 7th inning started with back-to-back singles by Dean Curley and Andrew Fischer.
Butch Thompson then ended Myers’ outing, replacing him with right-hander John Armstrong.
Armstrong struck out Ensley, but then gave up a sacrifice fly to Dalton Bargo. This tied the game at 3-3.
Dylan Loy returned to pitch the top of the 8th inning for the Vols, and set down the Tigers’ 3-4-5 hitters in order. He had successfully retired his last ten batters faced.
The bottom half of the 8th inning began with an infield single from Cannon Peebles, who advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Manny Marin.
Armstrong was replaced by Parker Carlson two batters later.
Dean Curley walked, and then both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Andrew Fischer, though, struck out to end the inning.
In the top of the 9th, with the score still tied, Eric Guevara slashed a double down the line, and Loy’s afternoon ended one pitch later (he was pulled mid at-bat).
He was replaced by Nate Snead, who gave up an RBI single to Chase Fralick.
Fralick’s base hit was monumental, giving Auburn a 4-3 lead in the final frame.
Tennessee seemed hopeless as rain began to fall in the bottom of the 9th, but Dalton Bargo blasted a game-tying home run over the left field wall.
Clark and Chapman both struck out, sending the game to extra innings, which only lasted 1 pitch, thanks to another rain delay.
When play resumed Sunday, Tennessee turned to their left-handed ace, Liam Doyle to finish off the game.
Auburn handed the ball to a southpaw of their own, Griffin Graves.
Doyle pitched a pair of scoreless innings (the 10th, and the 11th), before the Volunteers loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Chris Newstrom in the bottom of the 11th.
Newstrom slapped a walk-off single back up the middle.
This made Doyle the winning pitcher (8-2), and handed Graves the loss (2-1).
With this much-needed win, the Tennessee Volunteers improved to 37-10 (14-9 SEC), while the Auburn Tigers dropped to 32-15 (12-11 SEC).
Tennessee will face Auburn once more this afternoon before hosting the Indiana State Sycamores for a Tuesday night showdown.