'Vols Beat Kentucky
Tennessee went on the road and won the weekend series vs Kentucky in a top-5 matchup.
After losing a late lead on Friday night, the Vols jumped on the Wildcats early on Saturday before rallying from a 4-run deficit on Sunday to clinch to series.
Christian Moore was the star of the weekend, going 9-for-15 (.600 BA) with four home runs, a double, nine RBIs and five runs scored.
The Volunteers improved to 33-7 on the season and 12-6 in SEC play.
Friday Tennessee struck first on a Hunter Ensley 2-run home run that just cleared the wall in right centerfield in the top of the 2nd.
After a Kentucky solo home run in the bottom of the 3rd, Christian Moore made it 3-1 Vols on a 2-out RBI single in the top of the 5th.
Tennessee took that 2-run lead into the bottom of the 7th before the Wildcats scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs, Billy Amick couldn’t field a sharp grounder that bounced into left field and scored both runners.
Another Kentucky solo home run in the 8th inning made it 5-3 Cats and was the final score.
Vols starter Chris Stamos got just one out before he was replaced by AJ Causey. Causey took the loss after going 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out seven and walking just one.
A Blake Burke hard grounder to 1st base in the top of the 8th was initially ruled an error but changed to a hit after the game, which extended his hitting streak to a school record 28 games, breaking the tie he shared with Condredge Holloway.
Saturday The Vols wasted no time jumping on the Wildcats in front of a record crowd at Kentucky Proud Skatepark.
Christian Moore and Blake Burke led the game off with back-to-back home runs.
After Billy Amick reached on an error, three consecutive doubles chased the Kentucky starter from the game before he recorded an out with the score 5-0.
The Cats led off the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run and added another run on a 2-out RBI single that made it 5-2.
A Kavares Tears solo home run in the 2nd inning made it 6-2.
Tennessee took an 8-2 lead after a Dylan Dreiling solo home run and C Mo RBI single in the 5th inning.
With one out in the bottom of the 5th, back-to-back Kentucky RBI hits chased Vols starter Drew Beam from the game with the score 8-4.
Beam lasted 4.1 innings, given up four runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out four and walking two. After early inning struggles, Beam retired the Cats in order in the 3rd and 4th innings, which helped preserve the Vols bullpen.
With two on only one out, Aaron Combs got a double play to get Tennessee out of the jam.
Combs would throw 4.2 scoreless innings, a new career high, to earn the win, striking out seven and giving up just three hits. His curveball was un-hittable and his emergence in his last two appearances is much needed for a bullpen that lacks right-handed arms and strikeout pitchers.
Dreiling hit his 2nd home run of the game in the top of the 8th inning to make it a 9-4 game, which was the final score and set up the rubber match on Sunday.
Sunday Tennessee once again took an early lead.
A Cal Stark 2-out walk in the top of the 3rd was the Vols’s first base runner of the game and Christian Moore’s 2-run home run to right field was Tennessee’s first hit of the game and put the Big Orange up 2-0.
A Kentucky solo home run in the bottom of the inning made it 2-1.
The Wildcats scored four in the 4th inning and another in the 5th to take a 6-2 lead.
After Stark was hit by a pitch and C Mo doubled down the LF line to start the top of the 6th, Blake Burke extended his hitting streak to 30 games with a bloop single to LF that scored two one.
A Billy Amick single paired with a Kentucky error scored two more Vols to cut the Cats’ lead to 6-5.
Following a 3-pitch walk to Kavares Tears, Dylan Dreiling’s RBI single tied it at 6-all and chased the Kentucky starter from the game.
A walk to Dean Curley loaded the bases with no outs for pinch hitter Cannon Peebles, who hit a sac fly to the warning track in right field to put the Vols up 7-6.
Tennessee couldn’t tack on more as Reese Chapman grounded into a double play to end the top of the 6th.
A 2-out, full-count 2-run home run put the Cats back up 8-6 in the bottom of the inning but Tennessee responded with three runs in both the 7th and 8th innings.
C Mo’s 2nd home run of the game tied it at 8-all in the 7th. KT’s 2-run home run later in the inning made it 10-8.
Kentucky added another solo home run in the bottom of the 7th.
C Mo’s 3rd home run of the game was a 3-run shot in the top of the 8th that gave the Vols much-needed insurance runs at 13-9.
Kentucky hit back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the 9th and brought the potential tying run to the plate before Marcus Phillips got a fly out to right field to earn the save in his first SEC appearance.
Kirby Connell earned the win, throwing 4.1 innings. He gave up five runs on six hits (four home runs!), but once Tennessee took the lead, the plan was for him just to throw strikes.
Notes
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A forgettable weekend for Billy Amick. He was just 2-of-13 (.154 BA) with an RBI and four strikeouts. While not tagged for an error, he couldn’t field a grounder that allowed the winning runs to score in Friday night’s game and also dropped a pop up in foul territory on Saturday.
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Cannon Peebles didn’t play in the first two games of the weekend and didn’t record an at-bat but his sac fly is a home run in Lindsey Nelson Stadium and he earned a walk in the 8th inning. Hopefully that gets him going, as he’s struggled for much of the season and especially in SEC play. For this team to reach its full potential, they need to switch-hitting catcher to get going.
— AJ Causey has relieved Chris Stamos each of the last two Fridays. In those two appearances, he’s pitched 11 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits with 14 strikeouts and just three walks.
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We told you in last Thursday’s blog about Marcus Phillips potentially making his first SEC appearance over the weekend. He only faced one batter but it was the series-clinching out. He looked very good in his midweek start last Tuesday. If he continues to emerge and Aaron Combs continues to look like he did last season, that’s two strikeout-throwing right-handed pitchers in the bullpen that are much needed.
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The small ball Cats only stole two bases in the three games, the same amount as Tennessee. Kentucky also had a runner picked off 1st base in all three games. Maybe using a pitcher for the 1st base coach isn’t the smartest idea.
— Between the pink fuzzy hat and the coordinated cheers, Kentucky acts very much like a softball team in the dugout. It really takes away from what’s a very solid team that typically does the little things right to win games.
I'll be on with Brian and Tony unpacking some of this as well.
@Mattdixon3'