HOOVER, Ala. – Despite an early setback, the Vols roared past South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament
Tennessee baseball punched its ticket to the second round of the tournament, beating the Gamecocks 11-6 at Hoover Met Stadium on Tuesday night. The No. 10-seeded Vols (39-19, 15-15 SEC) fell behind 3-2 in the third inning, but outscored South Carolina (22-35, 7-23) by six in the last six innings to win their first game of the tournament.
Cam Appenzeller got the nod on the mound for Tennessee, the second start of his career. The freshman pitched five innings, allowing six hits, three walks and three earned runs. He also struck out five in the win.
“He’s a very humble, hardworking kid,” head coach Josh Elander said. “He’s talking about not having his best stuff, but the guy’s 5-1. Maybe his ERA is not as pretty as it was a month or two ago, but the last two games, he gave us a chance to win the SEC game.”
After the left-hander had a productive first inning, the Vols gave him immediate run support.
Garrett Wright led off with a single on the first pitch, a premonition of the night to come for Tennessee at the plate. Blake Grimmer singled to second base, and a throwing error moved both into scoring position. Henry Ford plated Wright from third on a sacrifice fly, giving the Vols an early lead.
Levi Clark knocked in another score. He hit a two-out single up the middle to barely score Grimmer from second base.
After a quiet second inning, South Carolina responded in the third.
The Gamecocks took a one-run lead after Appenzeller conceded a single and a walk to start the inning. A triple two at-bats later easily scored both to tie the game. The freshman pitcher walked another batter, and a groundout allowed the lead-taking run to cross.
Despite falling into a deficit, Tennessee’s bats made sure it wouldn’t last for long.
Grimmer, Ford and Trent Grindlinger all started the bottom of the third with a single, the last of which scored Grimmer to tie the game. Despite Tennessee striking out twice in the next two at-bats, the Vols found a second wind to finish the inning.
Manny Marin singled, driving in Ford to retake the lead. Nate Eisfielder followed up with a double, plating both Grindlinger and Marin. After Jay Abernathy reached on a fielding error, he and Eisfielder raced home after a single by Wright.
“I’m gonna give props here to Nate Eisfelder for ripping the ball in the gap coming off his first SEC start,” Wright said. “He’s a gamer, and he does a good job.”
By the time the dust settled at the plate, Tennessee had hammered South Carolina with a six-hit, six-run third inning to take an 8-3 lead.
After Appenzeller blanked the Gamecocks in the fourth, the Vols’ offense added insurance after a hustle play by Ford.
He hit a leadoff double, and Grindlinger advanced him to third with a groundout. Clark hit the ball directly to the shortstop, but South Carolina failed to get an out. The catcher dropped the ball in the rundown, and Ford took advantage.
He was barely safe, tagging home as the pitcher came barreling over the catcher while losing the ball.
After four solid innings, Appenzeller began to crack in the fifth. The freshman gave up two singles and a walk, loading the bases with two outs. South Carolina’s Will Craddock looked to cut the lead to two, but Appenzeller struck him out and stranded three to preserve Tennessee’s 9-3 lead.
“I don’t think it was very close to my best stuff,” Appenzeller said. “I was kind of moving a little slow today, but obviously, the amount of strikeouts was fun.”
In the seventh inning, the Gamecocks proved they weren’t going down without a fight.
After relieving Appenzeller, Brayden Krenzel got shelled by South Carolina. After a good sixth inning, the sophomore gave up two home runs to cut the lead to three. Will Haas came in for him and picked up the final out to strand a runner.
“I believe he hit 96 tonight for the first time since post-surgery,” Elander said. “But the guy’s gonna compete objectively. He’s got really good stuff. He’s got a unique (arm) slot that’s hard to prepare for. He’s got three pitches, so pretty fortunate to have his skillset.”
The Gamecocks couldn’t cut into the lead anymore in the eighth, and Tennessee slammed the door in the bottom of the inning.
Wright and Ford both hit solo home runs to left field, extending the lead to 11-6 and effectively ending South Carolina’s comeback chance. Haas struck out two batters in the top of the ninth, bringing his total to six, and a groundout to Grimmer advanced Tennessee to the second round.
With the win, the Vols will take on the No. 7-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. The two teams did not play this season, but the Razorbacks eliminated the Vols in the Fayetteville Super Regional last season in a sweep. First pitch will be at 5:30 p.m. ET on May 20.
“We’re gonna roll with Evan Blanco tomorrow out the gate,” Elander confirmed. “Then we’ll go from there.”
