Cam Appenzeller allowed a base hit to Steven Milam to push a runner into scoring position in the fifth inning. The Tigers went without a breath from that point on.
Tennessee baseball received an elite relief appearance from its Freshman of the Year watchlist candidate, knotting the series with LSU in a 4-1 win. The Vols and Tigers will tango with an Easter Sunday rubber match at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tegan Kuhns put together a start dominated by contact. The one-time Friday night starter struck out a career-low one batter in 4.0 innings of work, but allowed four hits and two walks.
He recorded six groundouts and five flyouts for Tennessee (20-11, 4-7 SEC). The lone blemish on his line was an RBI comebacker that pierced Kuhns on the back of the neck in the second inning. Kuhns remained in the game and navigated the two-on scenario, eventually stranding the bases loaded in the inning.
LSU (21-11, 5-6) managed five hits in the contest and did not record a baserunner past the fifth inning.
Tennessee cashes in early
The Vols brought six hitters to the plate in the first inning and left with runs on the board.
A leadoff walk by Garrett Wright sparked an early rally. Blaine Brown snuck a single through the right side of the infield, and that set up runners on the corners with one out for Blake Grimmer. Facing a 1-2 count, Grimmer dribbled a ball 87 mph off the bat through the wickets of Zach Yorke at first base. That scored both runners, pushing Grimmer to second on the error.
LSU responded with a run of its own in the second, cutting Tennessee’s lead down to a run.
Shutdown Appenzeller
Tennessee’s star freshman has adapted to every role he’s been handed, and his role as a leverage reliever has been the most crucial. It was no different Saturday night for the left-hander in his five innings of relief.
Appenzeller faced 16 batters, striking out six and walking none across 68 pitches. He followed Kuhns’ outing, inheriting a baserunner with no outs in the fifth, preventing any fires.
He allowed a single on the first batter faced, putting a runner in scoring position without an out, then picked up a groundout, foul out and strikeout to end the frame. The final was a dotted outside-corner fastball that caught Derek Curiel watching. Appenzeller let out his fire on the way back to the dugout while preserving a 4-1 lead.
The 6-foot-5 lefty retired 15 in a row after Steven Milam’s single as the first batter Appenzeller faced. He did not allow a baserunner afterward.
Continued struggles with runners in scoring position
A day after going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, the Vols continued to struggle early. A Henry Ford strikeout on three pitches, Grimmer reaching on an error, a Reese Chapman flyout and Manny Marin groundout left Tennessee 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in the first inning.
It didn’t get better as the game rolled on. Tennessee finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The lone hit was a Jay Abernathy double that scored Trent Grindlinger in the fourth inning — Tennessee’s final run of a low-scoring affair.
The Vols missed out on prime opportunities in the sixth and seventh innings, stranding two in scoring position both times. An Aberanthy looking strikeout and a Chapman groundout kept Tennessee from pushing insurance across the plate in the late innings.
Tennessee and LSU will decide a series winner with a 1 p.m. ET first pitch Sunday.
