Tennessee and Alabama baseball went back-and-forth in Sunday afternoon’s series finale in Tuscaloosa before the Crimson Tide scored three runs in the eighth inning to secure a 7-5 victory.
AJ Russell made his return to the mound and the Vols bats were relatively quiet as Alabama clinched the weekend series against Tennessee.
Here’s everything to know about the Sunday series rubber match.
AJ Russell Returns In Short Outing
Perhaps the best news of the weekend for Tennessee is that talented sophomore pitcher AJ Russell returned to the mound after missing the previous three weeks with side soreness that reared its ugly head in the series opener against UAlbany.
Russell was the Vols’ Friday night starter to open the season and is the most talented pitcher Tennessee has. Tony Vitello gave Russell the ball for the series finale and while it was an unsurprisingly short outing, the tall right-hander was solid in his return.
Russell threw 40 pitches in two innings. It was a shaky first few batters for Russell as he surrendered a single, allowed the runner to advance to second on a balk and then allowed a one-out RBI single.
But the talented sophomore was great from there. He got out of the first inning with a line out and a pop out before sitting down the Crimson Tide in order in the second.
Russell finished his day allowing two hits and one run while striking out two batters. He threw 28 strikes in 40 pitches as he was solid in his return to game action.
More From RTI: Tennessee vs. Alabama Game Three Play-By-Play
Both Bullpens Settle In
After Tennessee scored four runs against Alabama’s bullpen in the third inning and the Crimson Tide answered with two runs in the bottom half of the third and a leadoff home run in the fourth inning it looked like we might be in for a classic Sunday shootout.
But in the middle innings of the game, each bullpen eased into the game and found its footing.
For Alabama, RHP Braylon Myers was fantastic for three innings. In the fourth through six innings, Myers kept Tennessee off the scoreboard and allowed just two baserunners while pounding the strike zone and striking out two batters.
For Tennessee, it was key bullpen reliever Nate Snead. Snead came in with two runners on base and allowed both to score before giving up the solo homer to open up the fourth inning. It wasn’t the best start for the Wichita State transfer, but Snead settled in from there.
Snead got to the eighth inning with just giving up that lone run but that’s when he ran into trouble. More on that in a moment.
The game would have more runs in the final inning, but Snead and Myers turned in strong relief outings to keep the game from turning into a shootout.
Things Get Away From Tennessee In The Eighth Inning
Tennessee held a 5-4 lead entering the eighth inning with Snead starting to wear down. That’s when things got away from the flame throwing right-handed pitcher.
He hit the leadoff batter and allowed a one-out hit that put the leading run on base. Dylan Dreiling almost saved the day making a spectacular leaping catch at the wall for out number two. But Snead couldn’t get the final out as Alabama leadoff batter Gage Miller roped a middle-middle fastball for a no doubt home run to left field.
The home run gave Alabama a 7-5 lead which marked its first lead since the third inning. Tennessee loaded the bases thanks to Alabama defensive miscues in the ninth inning and pulled within one with a RBI walk but couldn’t get the big hit needed to tie the game or take the lead.
After taking the series opener, Tennessee couldn’t close out the weekend series on Saturday or in the closing innings on Sunday.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a Tuesday night midweek matchup against Xavier. First pitch is at 6 p.m. ET.
