By Abby Doperak
Tennessee capped the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series with a 3-1 victory over Virginia Tech.
Coming off a 5-3 win over Arizona State on Saturday, the No. 20 Volunteers carried that momentum into Sunday’s matchup. The unranked Hokies entered the game after a 15-8 loss to No. 4 Mississippi State.
Evan Blanco started on the mound for Tennessee opposite Ethan Grim for Virginia Tech. Amid ongoing pitching concerns this season, Blanco hit leadoff batter Sam Grube to open the game. Grube was later picked off, and a flyout and strikeout completed a three-up, three-down inning for the Volunteers.
Both teams remained hitless and scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, when Henry Ford drove in Ariel Antigua to give Tennessee a 1-0 lead.
Virginia Tech responded in the top of the fourth as Nick Locurto hit a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1.
Both teams made pitching changes in the sixth inning. Mark Hindy replacing Blanco for Tennessee, and Chase Swift replacing Grim for the Hokies.
“Out of the bullpen, the approach is always to get the job done,” Hindy said. “I am here to do a very specific thing, and that’s to clean up things that could be going a little awry.”
Tennessee regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Blaine Brown doubled to drive in Jay Abernathy for a 2-1 advantage. Levi Clark followed with a double of his own, scoring Brown to extend the lead 3-1.
“On the days where we go out and attack guys, we really do a good job,” Tennessee pitcher Brayden Krenzel said. “That’s kind of the mindset behind our philosophy of just going out there and making the next pitch and getting up to the next out.”
In the seventh inning, both teams turned to their closers – Krenzel for Tennessee and Logan Eisenreich for Virginia Tech. Tennessee managed no hits over the final three innings, while the Hokies recorded one, as the Volunteers secured the 3-1 win.
“It’s always good to do something twice,” Hindy said. “It felt good to face them, and [I am] happy today with how we did today as a collective.”
Clark and Brown each finished with a double and an RBI to lead Tennessee offensively, while Ford added an RBI. Blanco anchored the pitching, throwing six innings and striking out six.
“We are learning more,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said. “Friday, we got punched in the mouth. They are a really good club, UCLA. But again, good response yesterday. We definitely got better, but I am really excited for five games at home next week.”
The Volunteers will return to Knoxville on Tuesday to face East Tennessee State University. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.