Tennessee baseball extended its winning streak to 16 games on Tuesday evening by run ruling Eastern Kentucky 17-2 in seven innings at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Here’s how the Vols got it done against the Colonels.
Hunter Ensley Turns In Another Solid Performance
Tennessee center fielder Hunter Ensley ranked second on the Vols in batting average in SEC games last season and was one of four returning starters in the field for Tennessee.
But Ensley struggled to open the season and has been in-and-out of the lineup thanks to Tennessee’s elite outfield depth this season.
The improved results have been a slow climb for Ensley. First he started making some hard contact that didn’t necessarily lead to base hits. Then Ensley had some marginal success but nothing huge. With 10 of Tennessee’s top 12 bats hitting home runs before the center fielder.
Ensley hit his first home run of the season in a pinch hit opportunity in Sunday’s win over Illinois when the Vols were trailing in the middle innings.
It didn’t take Ensley long to hit his second home run, sending a solo shot to right field to give Tennessee a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
The redshirt junior’s home run was just the start of his strong performance, ending the night two-of-three with RBIs in three different at-bats. Ensley is starting to heat up at the plate and it’s coming at the right time with Tennessee opening SEC play on Friday.
Chris Stamos Returns To The Mound
Early in the season, Cal transfer Chris Stamos was one of the Vols best and most consistent bullpen arms. In four appearances, Stamos pitched 7.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs while striking out seven batters.
But Stamos exited Tennessee’s win over High Point with arm soreness two weeks ago and hadn’t returned to the mound in the eight games since.
With SEC play looming, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello got Stamos back in the fray and turned to Stamos for a “bullpen session” esc outing. The left-handed pitcher came in with one-out in the fourth inning and faced two batters.
Stamos retired both batters he faced throwing only eight pitches in the process. The super senior got a groundout and a fly out as he was productive in his return to the mound.
Having Stamos back on the mound before the start of SEC play is an important win for Tennessee’s pitching staff.
Home Runs And Substitutions
Tennessee’s win over Eastern Kentucky was a true midweek classic. Two staples of midweek games— home runs and substitutions.
The Vols did plenty of both against the Colonels.
Vitello’s seventh Tennessee team hit five home runs including bombs from Ensley (2), Dylan Dreiling (6), Kavares Tears (5), Christian Moore (6) and a Cal Stark grand slam (2).
Tennessee was able to empty the bench despite playing just seven innings. Eighteen different Tennessee batters got at-bats and bench bats Charlie Taylor and Hunter High recorded hits.
The Vols used seven different pitchers in the game despite Zander Sechrist getting 3.1 innings of action. RHP Brady Robertson made his career debut and retired two of the three batters he faced.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee opens up SEC play this weekend at Alabama. First pitch for the weekend series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium is at 7 p.m. ET on Friday night. SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
