By Stephen Mason
While it was downright sloppy and ugly at times, thanks to red-hot bats, Tennessee (21-12) defeated Northern Kentucky (13-18), 12-6, in a much-needed nonconference win.
The gritty win turned Tuesday’s matchup into the much-needed reset and confidence builder after Sunday’s 12th-inning meltdown against LSU and before this weekend’s series at No. 9 Mississippi State.
Freshman Ethan Biaotto, who started the game with a 5.62 ERA, took the mound for the Vols. While he shut down the Norse in the first and second innings, he gave up a three-run home run to Hunter Friedburg, ending his night prematurely in the third.
Brady Frederick took the mound after Biaotto and pitched a solid three innings for Tennessee, striking out three batters and only allowing one hit. This came after the bullpen struggled immensely during the series against LSU.
“I challenged the pen after last weekend and talked again after the game tonight,” head coach Josh Elander said. “Frederick made some adjustments, and we talked about some different deals. I thought he was really getting ambushed…you just gotta make some adjustments. That’s really what it’s all about”.
The bullpen continued having ups and downs throughout the game. Sawyer Deering only threw one pitch, but it was sent out to the porches by Northern Kentucky’s Ethan Thomas, driving in three runs. Taylor Tracey failed to field a pop fly to the mound, which ended his evening.
Ultimately, Elander turned to Bo Rhudy in the eighth inning, a pitcher he did not want to use tonight, to close the game for the Vols. Rhudy put together a solid showing, striking out three batters and sealing the victory for Tennessee.
“I was just attacking the strike zone, also working on getting the fastball a little lower in the strike zone because hitters were expecting it up,” Rhudy said. “Overall, just attacking the strike zone and making them put the ball in play.”
The aggressive style paid off for Rhudy, who was able to defend the large lead that the Vols’ offense built in the eighth inning. Scoring opened for Tennessee in the first inning with a two-run shot by Blake Grimmer; however, the Vols were never able to pull away from the Norse until very late in the game.
The game was all knotted up at six when the Vols came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth, and Tennessee managed to load up the bases with two outs. When Henry Ford hit a ground ball to shortstop, it looked like the inning was over; however, an error by the Norse allowed two runs to score. After this, the floodgates opened for Tennessee, which ended up scoring six runs in the eighth.
Tonight’s impressive offensive showing was led by Grimmer with two home runs and four RBIs, Trent Grindlinger with a home run and three RBIs, and Manny Marin, who had a solo shot of his own.
“It was a relief just to see the offense get the job done there and then tack a few more on after that. Just giving Bo (Rhudy) a little cushion to go out there and close the door,” Grimmer said.
While Northern Kentucky is no SEC powerhouse, getting back on track was crucial for the Vols tonight after a disheartening series against LSU. That being said, Tuesday’s game was far from perfect, and there are many things that the team will have to clean up.
“Sunday was pretty emotional, and there are a lot of words I could use for that game, but just sitting there after this game, we talked about that pop-up. Like that’s one thing that bugs me… if you don’t fix the things that can hurt you down the line, it’s going to hurt you, and you’re not going to win games,” Elander said.
Up Next – The road in conference play does not get easier for the Vols this weekend; in fact, it only gets harder. Tennessee will hit the road to continue SEC play and face the madhouse of Starkville as they take on the No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs. The series will kick off on Friday at 7:00 PM ET in a very hostile environment at Dudy Noble Field.