By Lily Helton
Blake Grimmer steps up to the plate at the bottom of the ninth inning. All game, his bat has been cold, 0-4 on the night. None of that matters in this moment, with a tie game in a midweek game which Tennessee struggled in all game.
“I just tried to stay calm,” said Grimmer.
He takes a deep breath – one swing of the bat – and sends a ball sailing over the right-field fence. Ballgame.
The Volunteers escaped and secured another win with a 4-2 victory over USC Upstate.
Slow Offensive Start
USC Upstate got it started early, with Spartan center fielder Henry Zenor reaching home on a fielder’s choice after a messy top of the first. The Vols were down early, 0-1.
The Vols struggled to kickstart their offense. Several players went without a hit. Garrett Wright went 0-for-4, as did Ariel Antigua, Levi Clark, and Trent Grindlinger going 0-for-2.
“We gotta be better offensively, for sure,” said Tennessee Head Coach Josh Elander.
The early six innings consisted of strikeouts, foul balls, or groundouts. It was looking to be a very slow loss for No. 21 Tennessee.
Special Seventh Inning
The stagnating offense finally had its breakthrough in the seventh inning. A walk, followed by a Levi Clark reached first on a fielder’s choice, led to a pitching change for the Spartans.
Designated hitter Tyler Myatt wasted no time welcoming the new pitcher to the game with a big swing to right field that loaded the bases with Volunteers.
Designated hitter Tyler Myatt had a big swing to right field that filled the bases with orange jerseys.
With the bases loaded, sophomore Blaine Brown sent the right and center fielders chasing after a ground ball – leaving Clark and pinch runner Jay Abernathy an easy waltz to home plate. The Vols had the lead, 2-1.
Bullpen Magic
One group that remained consistent all night was the Volunteer pitching staff. Starter Taylor Tracey struggled early, walking the first two batters. There was a quick pitching change, and the next four answered the call..
“It’s good for us to kind of move forward and keep things running,” said sophomore pitcher Brayden Krenzel.
Brady Frederick, Nic Abraham and Bo Rhudy all recorded multiple strikeouts, with Frederick leading the pack with four. Krenzel finished the night with four-fifths of his pitches thrown for strikes.
“They were great… gotta continue to throw strikes,” said Elander.
Up Next: The Volunteers return to SEC play this weekend, traveling to Nashville for a series against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET.