Baseball Vols Lose Series At Alabama: 'Disappointing weekend for Tennessee baseball as they saw their winning streak come to an end and ultimately lost the series at Alabama.
Evenly played 3-game series but the Crimson Tide had more timely hits and didn’t let their mistakes cost them in the final two games after the Volunteers won game one.
Friday
Tennessee hit three home runs and got another solid start from AJ Causey to take the opening game, 11-3.
The Vols scored one run in the top of the 1st on a walk with the bases loaded.
Alabama responded with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead.
Dylan Dreiling and Blake Burke each hit 2-run home runs in the 3rd and 4th innings to give the Vols a 5-1 lead. Tennessee then added three runs in the 5th on RBI hits by Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo.
Kavares Tears’ 2-run home run in the 6th inning to make it 10-1.
The Vols added a run on a wild pitch in the 8th inning while Bama hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 9th.
After giving up the two 1st inning home runs, Causey gave up four home hits — all singles — during his 6.2 innings of work. He struck out eight and walked just one to earn his 4th win of the season.
Saturday
The Tide led 6-0 after three innings and held on to win 6-3.
Tennessee left nine runners on base and were 0-of-7 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
A leadoff double in the bottom of the 1st came around to score to give the home team an early 1-0 lead.
Christian Moore couldn’t cleanly field a grounder up the middle that would’ve ended the 2nd inning. Instead, the next batter tripled off the wall in right centerfield and scored on a throwing error by Moore to put the Vols in an early 3-0 deficit.
The 2-out bad luck for Tennessee starter Drew Beam in the 3rd inning as well. He took a line drive off his right foot. After a walk, a 2-out, 2-strike poke got past Blake Burke down the 1st base line and scored one. After another walk, a single to left field brought two more runs home to give Bama the 6-0 lead.
Robin Villeneuve hit a solo home run to left center field in the top of the 4th to get the Vols on the board.
Moore hit a moonshot well over the scoreboard in left field in the top of the 7th to make it a 6-2 game.
Billy Amick scored in the 8th inning on a Dylan Dreiling fielder’s choice ground ball to shortstop but Kavares Tears was thrown out at 3rd base on the play, the 2nd time the Vols ran into an out at 3rd in the game.
The Vols brought the tying run to the plate with two outs in the top of the 9th but Amick popped out 3rd to tie the series.
Beam went the distance, getting the rare complete game loss. Five of the six runs he allowed were earned. He gave up eight hits while striking out six and walking two.
Sunday
AJ Russell started for the Vols, making his first appearance since the second weekend of the season.
He only pitched two innings but his return should help solidify the weekend rotation for the Vols.
Russell gave up a single to lead off the bottom of the 1st and that runner eventually scored after a balk and an RBI single.
With bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 3rd, Dylan Dreiling cleared the bases with a double to the left-center field gap to give Tennessee a 3-1 lead.
Robin Veillenuve made it back-to-back doubles and brought Dreiling home to make it 4-1.
Bama responded with two runs in the bottom of the 3rd and a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 4th to tie it at 4-4.
After back-to-back 1-out hits by Blake Burke and Billy Amick in the top of the 7th, Kavares Tears’s groundout to the right side scored one to give the Vols a 5-4 lead.
But a 2-out, 3-run no-doubt home run in the bottom of the 8th off Nate Snead gave Bama a 7-5 lead.
Tennessee would load the bases in the 9th and scored a run on a walk but Villeneuve struck out on three pitches to end it.
The Vols return to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for an 8-game home stand, beginning with Xavier tonight.
Tennessee hosts Ole Miss this weekend and Georgia next weekend with a midweek game vs Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, March 26th in-between.
I'll be on with Brian & Tony today ...
@Mattdixon3'