Tennessee baseball trailed UNC Asheville, but not for long.
A quick back-and-forth second inning gave the Vols scares, but the first midweek challenge of the year resulted in a 10-3 win for the home team at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Bulldogs jumped ahead 2-0, but the Vols rallied in the bottom of the second inning courtesy of a game-tying RBI triple by Jay Abernathy. Stone Lawless mashed a three-run home run to the second level of the porches to give Tennessee a 5-2 lead in the third inning.
Tennessee (4-0) used six pitchers, including Ethan Baiotto and Taylor Tracey, who made their collegiate debuts. UNC Asheville (2-3) snuck through five hits.
Blaine Brown delivers in pitching debut
Brown made seven appearances for Rice a season ago, including four starts, where he managed just 4.1 innings. His ERA ran 20.77, and he recorded six strikeouts to 12 free passes. That included 0.1 innings against Tennessee, allowing three runs and earning the only decision of his career — a loss.
He struck the side out in order in his Tennessee pitching debut.
The two-way phenomenon utilized a fastball-heavy repertoire to clean through Logan Lowe, Patrick Gillen and Jake Minarik on 16 pitches.
Cam Appenzeller took over in the second inning.
Appenzeller shelled, bounces back in outing
The debut for the No. 22 prospect and MLB draftee proved to be one to build on. But with Josh Elander eager to get him more action, Tuesday appeared to be too early.
UNC Asheville jumped on Appenzeller in the second inning, plating two runs. Ben Green opened with a double, then the freshman issued a walk. Chase Klingemann responded with an RBI double and a sacrifice bunt to plate two runs. He threw 17 pitches in the second inning and only found the strike zone eight times.
Appenzeller returned to the mound in the third inning and bounced back to salvage his performance. He recorded two strikeouts and a groundout to retire the side in order.
He pitched in the fourth and fifth innings, piecing together two more hitless frames. Mark Hindy emerged from the pen in the sixth inning in relief.
Appenzeller’s line closed at four innings pitched, allowing two hits and two earned runs. He struck out six batters and walked two across 56 pitches.
Bottom of order produces
Henry Ford and Brown combined for 13 of Tennessee’s 30 hits over the weekend. The one-two punch at the top of the order did the heavy lifting, while the rest of the lineup relaxed.
Tuesday’s bottom of the order did the dirty work on Tuesday against UNC Asheville, though.
Abernathy consumed the eight-hole while Ariel Antigua manned the last spot in the lineup card. Both produced multi-hit nights and did their job at turning the card back to Ford and Brown at the top. Abernathy and Antigua went 5-for-7 at the plate on Tuesday.
The sophomore centerfielder provided the two most interesting hits of the night. He legged out a triple that nearly turned into a Little League home run if not for an overturned call after review in the second inning. The hit tied the game at 2-all.
In the seventh inning, he skied a ball to centerfield. The Bulldogs lost it in the night sky as the ball dropped in the outfield, and Abernathy was awarded an RBI double.
Abernathy fell a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Antigua, meanwhile, produced a pair of singles.
Tennessee baseball is back in action with a weekend series against Kent State beginning Friday.
