Tennessee baseball extended its winning streak to five games Tuesday evening as they knocked off UNC Asheville 5-0 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Jared Dickey was back behind the plate while it took Tennessee’s offense a while to wake up.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Vols’ midweek victory over UNC Asheville.
More From RTI: Play-By-Play Of Tennessee’s Victory Over UNC Asheville
Dickey Back Behind The Plate
After starting two at catcher twice in Tennessee’s weekend series victory over Texas A&M, Jared Dickey was back behind the plate for the Vols Tuesday afternoon.
Dickey spent very little time at catcher the first month of the season before ramping up his work in the last week. Tony Vitello starting Dickey behind the plate Tuesday continues his in season crash course training and furthers the sentiment that Dickey’s move to catcher will be a consistent theme the rest of the season.
The redshirt sophomore looked better behind the plate against UNC Asheville than he did in either game over the weekend. That’s no surprise as the utility man is plenty capable behind the plate and is looking to get back in the groove of things.
There were no passed balls — or wild pitches for that matter — and no mix ups between the Vols’ pitchers and Dickey. UNC Asheville did steal a base but didn’t overwhelm Dickey on the base paths either.
It was a relatively quite evening for Dickey at the plate but not a poor one as he went 0-of-2 with a walk.
Jenkins, Combs Lead The Way For Strong Pitching Afternoon
It was a normal midweek pitching performance for Tennessee baseball against UNC Asheville as the Vols used nine different pitchers to shutout the Bulldogs. Everything who pitched did well as the Vols allowed just one hit and four total baserunners. However, Bryce Jenkins and Aaron Combs were particularly impressive.
Jenkins was the first Vol out of the bullpen, coming in with a pair of runners on base with two-outs in the second inning. The junior college transfer quickly got out of the jam by picking off the runner at first to end the inning.
The junior was even better throwing the ball home, striking out three of the five batters he faced. Jenkins didn’t allow a single baserunner and 16 of his 22 pitches thrown were strikes.
Aaron Combs got a clean sixth inning and made the most of it, striking out the side in just 11 pitches. The sophomore has made the most of his opportunities all season and that continued against the Bulldogs as he turned in his most dominant outing of the season.
Every pitcher was effective for Tennessee Tuesday night but Jenkins and Combs were the most dominant.
Vols Offense Late To Arrive
Tennessee’s offense struggled badly for the first half of the game. The Vols and Bulldogs were knotted at zero through four and a half innings. In fact, Tennessee had just one hit when Christian Scott blasted a two-out, solo home run to give the Vols the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Scott’s hit sparked Tennessee’s offense. Maui Ahuna immediately followed it up with a double and Tennessee didn’t drive him in it did show the change in the Vols’ offense once they got on the scoreboard.
Blake Burke led off the sixth inning with a solo home run and Tennessee added two more runs in the inning before adding another run in the seventh. The Vols stranded runners in those final innings but were far more successful and aggressive at the plate.
After recording just one hit in the first 4.2 innings, the Vols tallied four hits and had four other players reach base in the game’s final 3.1 innings.
Ahuna led the way at the plate, going two-for-four at the plate with a double.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee heads on the road this weekend where they’ll face LSU in a three-game series at Alex Box Stadium. First pitch for the series at 8 P.M. ET Thursday night.
