Rookie skipper Josh Elander’s first SEC game at the helm proved a successful one.
Tennessee knocked off Georgia 7-4 at Foley Field in Athens. Brandon Arvidson picked up the win for the No. 19 Vols (14-4, 1-0 SEC) while Justin Byrd took the loss for the No. 8 Bulldogs (15-3, 0-1).
Tennessee entered the game as one of the lowest scoring offenses in the SEC, while Georgia arrived as one of the best scoring teams across the country, leading all of college baseball in home runs with 61.
Tegan Kuhns took the bump for Tennessee, while Joey Volchko started for Georgia. Each man looked sharp in the opening frames. Both struck out the side in the first, trading zeroes through the first two innings of the game.
In the third, leadoff hits from Jay Abernathy and Garrett Wright set up shop for the Vols, placing runners on second and third with nobody out. After a Blaine Brown strikeout, Henry Ford laced a single up the middle to plate both runners and put the visitors on top 2-0.
Kuhns shut things down in the third stanza and remained perfect the first time through the lineup. He would encounter trouble in the fourth as Georgia recorded consecutive one-out singles, but the sophomore would work around the trouble with a flyout and a groundout to second.
In the fifth, the nation’s second-best run-producing offense would finally break through. After two quick outs, Kuhns threw a 3-2 pitch to Ryan Black that he drilled over the center field wall for a solo home run to get Georgia on the board. Back-to-back hits brought home the tying run for the Bulldogs, and a double off the wall would give them men on second and third with two away, chasing Kuhns from the game.
Brady Frederick came on and immediately surrendered a base hit up the middle from catcher Daniel Jackson to give Georgia a 4-2 lead. The ETSU transfer walked Jordy Oriach, giving way to Brandon Arvidson. The southpaw retired left fielder Henry Allen to end the inning.
Looking for a response, Tennessee got its first two runners aboard in the sixth. After a strikeout of Stone Lawless and a Tyler Myatt chopper to advance the runners, Manny Marin stepped to the plate with the tying runs in scoring position. On an 0-2 pitch, he laced a ball off the wall for a two-run double to tie things at four.
The seventh inning looked to be a quiet one for Tennessee until Ford smacked a two-out solo homer into the trees to put the Vols back in front 5-4. The home run parade wouldn’t stop there, as Lawless and Marin would each blast one to stretch the advantage to three runs.
Meanwhile, Arvidson shut things down after being called upon. Despite base traffic in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, none of the three Bulldogs to reach against him came around to score.
After a quiet top of the ninth, Arvidson came back out to try and close the game for Elander and Tennessee. Pinch-hitter Cole Koniarski opened the home half with a single, and he advanced to second on a chopper to Ford. Arvidson would retire the next two hitters on a strikeout and a groundout to punctuate the evening. In his 4.1 innings of work, the veteran allowed two hits and a pair of walks, striking out four to pick up his first win of the season.
The Vols will send Landon Mack to the mound for game two of the weekend, trying to clinch a series win to open SEC play. The Bulldogs will look to Dylan Vigue to even things up in the March 14 duel.
