Taking advantage of opportunities handed on a golden platter is easier said than done.
Tennessee baseball didn’t fret, however, when Alabama dished out a pair of sixth-inning errors that sparked a rally. The Vols took care of business in the backend of a doubleheader, 11-4, to take the series over Alabama.
Blaine Brown and Trent Grindlinger each posted three-hit days, while Henry Ford, Blake Grimmer and Reese Chapman went for two apiece. The Vols (29-15, 10-11 SEC) went for 14 hits as a team en route to a series-clinching win.
Alabama (29-16, 10-11) battled with two home runs in the early goings, but a seven-spot by Tennessee in the sixth inning doused the Tide.
Order shakeup
Josh Elander’s squad put together a 10-spot in a run-rule victory earlier in the day, but that didn’t stop him from tweaking the lineup card. The move included Grindlinger in the cleanup and Brown in the eight-hole.
It was Grindlinger’s highest spot in the order to date, and Brown’s lowest — both players gave Tennessee life at the plate in their new spots.
Brown came through first with an RBI single in the second inning, giving the Vols an early lead for Blanco. He snuck a 3-1 single up the middle to score Reese Chapman from second.
Grindlinger answered in his second at-bat, after Alabama took a one-run lead. The freshman designated hitter, who hit a home run in the first game of the doubleheader, doubled down on his day. Grindlinger mashed a 113-mph line drive blast off the batter’s eye to tie the game at 2-all. It launched off his bat at 15.8 degrees, leaving in a hurry.
Brown then matched his counterpart.
In the sixth inning, a tied game at hand and a runner on base, Brown carried a ball 359 feet over the wall in left out from the left-handed batter’s box to put the Vols ahead by two runs.
Alabama’s daunting sixth-inning errors
Stone Lawless navigated the basepaths in the sixth inning in a unique fashion. Then Brown demolished a baseball.
Lawless placed a grounder toward Jason Torres at third base. Torres, who hit a leading home run the inning prior, mishandled the throw to first base, and it ended up out of play — allowing Lawless to take second base on an error.
Reese Chapman stepped in and placed a sacrifice bunt down, but the defensive execution was not clean. Pitcher Myles Upchurch launched the grounder to foul territory behind third base, allowing Lawless to come home and tie the game.
Manny Marin grounded out, which should’ve ended the inning if it weren’t for errors.
Instead, Brown sent an opposite-field, two-run round-tripper to the porches in right field to give Tennessee the lead at 5-3 in the sixth.
Tennessee rallied off seven total runs in the sixth inning, allowing the Vols to take a 9-3 lead into the final stretch.
Brilliant Blanco delivers again
Tennessee knows what it’ll get every time Evan Blanco toes the rubber. The game three starter has been a model of consistency for most of the season, aside from a Vanderbilt start that went quickly awry.
Blanco’s model stayed in form with six innings of three-run baseball on Friday night, tossing an SEC-best nine strikeouts. He allowed five base hits and walked one.
Alabama did the bulk of its damage with power. The Crimson Tide put together two home runs and two doubles off Blanco — but his offense backed him up to prevent a loss.
Blanco retired the side in order three times. He struck out the side in the third and sixth innings.
Out of the gate, Blanco retired the first eight batters of the game before a third-inning bomb from Peyton Steele ended the streak. In three consecutive starts now, Blanco has dominated the top of the order. He retired nine in a row to start against Mississippi State, six in a row to start against Ole Miss and now eight against Alabama.
Blanco’s night ended after an elongated sixth inning, which brought Brandon Arvidson out to start the seventh.
Tennessee’s next series will be taking the road for a three-game battle with Kentucky starting May 1.
