The No. 10 Vols began their three-game series versus Rhode Island with two wins on Friday. Due to weather predictions, the game on Saturday was rescheduled to make it a doubleheader.
It was a long but successful day of baseball for the Vols, who won the first game 17-4, and the second game 8-3.
The Vols started off strong in the first game, scoring eight runs on eight hits by the seventh inning stretch. Over that same stretch, Rhode Island only had four runs on eight hits.
That momentum pushed them through the rest of the game and the Vols more than doubled it score, as they finished with a 17-4 win.
Redshirt freshman Jared Dickey had scored runs on two hits and had two RBIs. Another top performer for the game was junior Seth Stephenson who had two runs, three hits and three RBIs.
Freshman right hander Chase Burns pitched for the first game up until the sixth when senior Camden Sewell came in. In his time on the mound Burns totaled six strikeouts, followed by two strikeouts from Sewell and one from Wyatt Evans who closed out the game.
Using the energy from the first game, the Vols came out strong with a run in both the second and third innings, followed by five runs in the fifth.
At the bottom of the fifth, the Vols had back to back home runs with Christian Scott and Cortland Lawson, followed by another home run by Christian Moore.
Lawson currently ranks third on the team in runs this year. The junior from Potomac Falls, Virginia, made his first appearance this season against Georgia Southern and has performed well for them since then. In the Vols’ game against No. 1 Texas, Lawson went 2-for-4 with an RBI double.
The freshman from Brooklyn, Ney York, Moore holds the second spot for RBIs on the team for this season with 15 RBIs. Moore also holds the top spot for slugging percent (1.350) and OPS (1.921).
Between both games, the Vols accrued 25 runs, five of which were home runs.
The Vols used three pitchers during the second game. Sophomore right hander Chase Dollander started off the game strong with 12 strikeouts in six innings. Dollander consistently threw 98 mph with his fastball.
“I just kind of saw that they weren’t really touching anything that I was throwing,” Dollander said. “I just kind of pounded the strikes down like I knew how to do and it just kind of worked out for me.”
Redshirt junior righty Ben Joyce pitched two innings and struck out two batters before sophomore Hollis Fanning and Kirby Connell combined to pitch the ninth inning.
Dollander has seen improvement in each of his starts and continues to learn from each outing.
“I thought they’ve been pretty good,” Dollander said. “I had that one start against Baylor that was a little shaky but I got to learn from it and move on and I think I’m pretty ready for it.”
With no games on Saturday, head coach Tony Vitello emphasized the importance of a recovery day before finishing the series Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson.
“Saturday is a day of rest for our guys, it’s kind of been earned,” Vitello said. “It’s been a long week if you look at the whole itinerary and that could really pay off in the long run for us, at least as it relates to the next six or seven days.”
