Tyler Myatt called game.
Tennessee baseball blew its lead in the ninth inning, and then inserted the junior college transfer to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth. Myatt took the third pitch he saw 434 feet over the wall in centerfield, giving the Vols a 4-3 win over Kent State at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tegan Kuhns put together one of the most interesting performances from a starting pitcher. He only allowed one hit, but seven total batters reached base in his decisionless outing for the Vols (5-0).
Kent State (3-2) starting pitcher Ciaran Caughey had the Tennessee lineup on its toes. He put together four innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four and walking four batters.
Missed opportunities
Tennessee loaded the bases with one out in the third inning.
Stone Lawless popped up to first base. Manny Marin went down swinging. The Vols missed multiple opportunities to bring runners around the bags.
Through the first three innings, Tennessee left six runners on base. It was 1-for-8 with runners on and 1-for-6 with them in scoring position. Kent State took advantage, plating a run in the ensuing half inning after Tennessee faltered.
Tennessee finished the game 2-for-13 with runners aboard. It left eight runners on base.
Pitcher beef
Tennessee pitchers seemed to have a stern dislike for Kent State batters in the box Friday.
Kuhns plucked three Golden Flashes in his start — Grady Mee, Luke Matthew and Micah Rienstra-Kiracofe. He allowed seven total baserunners across his 5.2 innings on the mound.
He started the game with a tone-setting at-bat. Kuhns delivered the 3-2 pitch off the arm of Mee to put a runner aboard to start. He followed in the second inning with a hit-by-pitch on the first delivery to Matthew, and struck Rienstra-Kiracofe on his 1-0 pitch in the fourth inning that sparked the Golden Flashes.
The sophomore punched in an up-and-down performance with high traffic. But he managed to get out of most danger he faced.
He allowed one hit and three walks, striking out four batters in the process. He tallied 91 pitches for the night before exiting in the sixth inning.
Kuhns’ biggest challenge came in the fourth inning due to the hit-by-pitch. After inducing a flyout to lead off the frame, his next pitch went off Rienstra-Kiracofe. A groundout allowed the baserunner to advance into scoring position. Matthew singled to left field, allowing the first run of the game to cross the plate. Kuhns closed the frame with a swinging strikeout despite a runner standing on third.
It did not end with Kuhns’ exit.
Brayden Krenzel hit a batter in the eighth inning, and Bo Rhudy hit the first batter he faced in the ninth. Rhudy hit another to load the bases, and the Flashes responded with a game-tying hit on the next at-bat.
Tennessee’s pitching staff hit six total Golden Flashes, tying a program record.
Sixth inning shenanigans
Tennessee’s bats were cold through the spring weather. And then the sixth inning sparked life into the lineup.
Reese Chapman led off with a ground-rule double that got stuck beneath the centerfield wall. Lawless and Marin flyouts allowed him to advance the remaining two bases to help Tennessee tie the game at 1-all.
Chris Newstrom followed with a five-pitch walk. That brought eight-hole hitter Jay Abernathy to the plate. And he punished a ball 362-feet off the scoreboard to give the Vols their first lead of the night, 3-1.
Kent State rallies back
The Golden Flashes did not go down without a fight.
Kent State plated a run in the eighth inning to cut the deficit to one, and then loaded the bases on Rhudy in the ninth inning. Sawyer Solitaria snuck a game-tying RBI single through the infield, reloading the bases with one out. Brady Frederick entered from the bullpen, and picked up two groundouts to bring forth the home half of the ninth.
Tennessee and Kent State return to the diamond for a 4 p.m. first pitch Saturday.
