Tennessee baseball continued its undefeated streak, beating West Georgia, 4-2, before it hosts Florida over the weekend. The Vols shut down the Wolves (8-7) in a competitive game that required all nine innings.
Freshman pitcher Brayden Krenzel got his fifth appearance of the season for the No. 2 Vols (17-0) and his first start on the mound. He only lasted an inning as head coach Tony Vitello elected to make it another bullpen game against the Wolves.
Tennessee baseball advances over West Georgia: How it happened
He got off to a shaky start, allowing two on base after a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Catcher Cannon Peebles ended West Georgia’s momentum, throwing a runner out at third for the final out.
Tennessee didn’t take long to get the lead.
Faced with two outs in the bottom of the first, Andrew Fischer took his second pitch deep to left field and over the fence. Hunter Ensley, who had been walked the at-bat prior, scored from first to make the score 2-0.
The Vols elected to throw Austin Breedlove in the second inning. He faced five batters in the top of the second, allowing two hits. The junior got himself out of a jam, closing the inning well with runners on first and third base to hold the Wolves scoreless.
Tennesseee tried to continue its offensive momentum in the second inning but was unsuccessful. Although they loaded the bases, the Vols couldn’t convert any into runs. Reese Chapman and Dalton Bargo both reached base on walks, while Dean Curley was hit by a pitch. Gavin Kilen grounded out to first base to end the inning for the Vols, leaving all three on base to keep the score at 2-0.
Redshirt freshman Brayden Sharp was the third pitcher up for the Vols in as many innings. He allowed a double, which turned into a run for the Wolves.
The Vols managed to get two on base in the third inning. Ensley worked the at-bat well, taking a ball on a full count to make it on base. Levi Clark advanced him, hitting a single to center for the Vols’ second hit of the day. Peebles lined out to the shortstop to end the inning with two on base to keep the score at 2-1 with the Vols on top.
Thomas Crabtree took over in the fourth, throwing just 11 pitches for two strikeouts and a popout to the shortstop.
The bottom of the fourth inning followed the same script as most of the game. The Vols left Curley and Kilen stranded on base, leaving the score 2-1 despite the attempts to finally drive in a run.
Crabtree was given another inning, and he made the best of it, forcing two groundouts and a flyout to right field.
Tennessee was quickly faced with two outs in the bottom of the fifth as they continued to look for runs. West Georgia walked the next two batters, giving Chris Newstrom an opportunity with a runner in scoring position.
Newstrom had a quality at-bat, attaining a full count before driving a single into left field. Chapman rounded third and headed home, easily scoring. Bargo was unable to drive in the other two runners on the next at-bat, hitting a flyout to deep right field to end the fifth inning. Tennessee now led 3-1, its first run since the first inning.
Crabtree added two more groundouts and a strikeout to end the inning.
Tennessee continued to show signs of life on offense in the bottom of the sixth. Curley, Kilen and Ensley loaded the bases with no out as Fischer stepped up to the plate. He got ahold of his first look and took it deep to right field, but the Wolves made a terrific diving catch to force the flyout.
Although it wasn’t a grand slam, the Vols still added another run. Curley scored to make the lead 4-1. West Georgia turned a double play off a groundout by Clark to limit the damage to one run despite the loaded bases with no outs for the Vols.
The Wolves were able to get a hit in the top of the seventh, but not an inch more. Tennessee subbed in Brandon Arvidson for Crabtree, totaling one hit and three strikeouts in 3.1 innings of action. The redshirt sophomore struck his first batter out and the last out came by a popout to first base.
Tennessee had a quiet seventh compared to its last two innings. Newstrom reached base on a walk as the other three batters went down, keeping the score at 4-1 in favor of the Vols.
Austin Hunley relieved Arvidson to start the eighth. Hunley was on a tight leash, lasting only 10 pitches before Tennessee went back to the bullpen. They called on redshirt junior Michael Sharman to close out the frame. He allowed a double, which drove in a run for the Wolves to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Vols couldn’t find anything offensively in the bottom of the eighth, as West Georgia tallied three quick outs to extinguish the Vols.
The Wolves had three more outs to score at least two more runs, but they were unable to do so. Dylan Loy and Ryan Combs combined to throw 10 pitches in the top of the ninth, closing out the win for Tennessee.
