Game 1 Recap
It wouldn’t be Opening Day without a little rain.
But in the midst of rain falling on Friday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Tennessee defeated Appalachian State 6-0 in its season-opener.
“I think the enthusiasm and the vibe was better today,” Tony Vitello said following the game. “Right after BP, the whole group was there to pick up balls, and they were having fun, and there was some energy to it.”
Led by the arm of Garrett Stallings (W, 1-0), the Vols held the Mountaineers to zero runs on just one hit. Redmond Walsh and Chase Silseth followed up Stallings’ seven-inning outing with back-to-back scoreless innings to close out the win.
At the plate, Tennessee’s bats were kept quiet for most of the game, scoring just one run through the first five innings. Then Justin Ammons and Evan Russell both went deep in the bottom of the sixth, extending Tennessee’s lead to 3-0.
“We were all locked in,” Russell said. “We came out and we were ready to roll.”
Following back-to-back sacrifice flies in seventh from Luc Lipcius and Jake Rucker, the Vols led 5-0. In the next inning, Al Soularie drove in the final run of the game on an RBI single to shortstop.
Here are our observations from the Vols’ first win of the season.
Stallings dominates
Following the ending of his sophomore season, Stallings took a long, hard look in the mirror at himself. He had been a reliable pitcher for the Vols during the first half of the season, but he struggled down the stretch. Stallings was a strike-thrower – an aspect that pitching coach Frank Anderson places an emphasis on – but he wasn’t missing any bats.
Against Appalachian State, the junior missed plenty of bats. In seven scoreless innings of work, Stallings struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed just one hit. The right-hander didn’t walk any Mountaineers.
“Pitching on a Friday night is something I’ve dreamed about since I was a little kid,” Stallings said. “Knowing I was gonna be a little more amped-up, I just used that to my advantage.
“You try your best to be as calm as you can, but you know you’re gonna have a little juices flowing, especially being opening day.”
Vitello chalked Stallings’ performance up to a show of character, which is why he was given the ball to start the season. Despite having several capable arms of starting, the tiebreaker amongst the coaching staff’s decision was experience.
“He’s a champ,” Vitello said of Stallings. “He’s improved in several areas.”
Over the offseason, Stallings added a breaking ball – a curveball in particular – to his arsenal. Adding that pitch to his repertoire hasn’t only helped him in terms of getting opponents to swing-and-miss, but it’s instilled a new level of confidence.
“It means you can step up your game when a guy’s in scoring position or you’re facing one of the better hitters in the lineup,” Vitello stated. “You have more to go to. You feel like you got a bigger weapon in the battle.”
Stallings added the pitch over the summer while performing in the Cape Cod League. He worked on multiple breaking balls, but found the curveball to be the most welcoming. Being able to throw four pitches has elevated his game.
“It’s not that one (pitch) is so much better than the others,” Stallings said. “It’s just my ability to be able to mix it and know deep down that I can be a strikeout guy.”
Bringing the power
Vitello told reporters last week that he didn’t think Tennessee was going to be a team that out-slugged anybody this season. He then admitted he would love for his team to prove him wrong.
It may be just one game, but his team did just that.
With the bats quiet to start the game, Ammons and Russell both went deep in the bottom of the sixth to spark the offense. After scoring just one run through the first five innings, Tennessee scored five runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings combined.
“I don’t think we’re gonna stand at home plate and whale away and just out-slug people,” Vitello said. “It’ll be a little bit of what Ricky (Martinez) did, getting a good bunt down, us running the bases aggressively. We’ve got some speed, and that’ll be a complement for maybe driving some balls.”
Russell would finish 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. Along with his homer, Russell hit a double off the top of the left field wall.
“I was just trying to get to a full-count and get to a count that I could kind of get a little more loose,” Russell said. “He gave me a good pitch, and I executed.”
Final stats
Eight out of the 10 Tennessee hitters that recorded a plate appearance picked up a hit. Along with Russell’s multi-hit game, center fielder Jay Charleston was 2-for-3 at the plate – recording Tennessee’s first hit of the season. He also had an RBI.
Soulaire, Martinez, and Jake Rucker all picked up a hit in their first career games with Tennessee.
For Appalachian State, catcher Riley Smith was the only one who picked up a hit. Starter Will Sprinkle allowed three runs on five hits and picked up the loss.
