Tennessee baseball ended a two-year losing streak against Tennessee Tech by run-ruling its instate foe 11-1 in seven innings on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
A number of Vols got increased opportunities on the night and most ran with them including freshman shortstop Ariel Antigua who dazzled defensively in his first career start.
Here’s how the Vols got it done against Tennessee Tech.
Tennessee Works Through Its Bullpen
In our first occurrence of a midweek staple this season, Tennessee baseball used seven different pitchers on Tuesday afternoon. Tony Vitello and Frank Anderson gave each pitcher one inning of work and gave opportunities to a ton of young arms.
Freshman Dylan Loy made his first career start, striking out a pair while retiring the side in order in the first inning. Fellow freshman Derek Schaefer was great as well, striking out two batters in 1-2-3 inning.
But really Tennessee’s entire pithing staff was really good. The seven pitchers allowed just one run but it was an unearned run on a fielding error. They combined to allow just three hits whole striking out five batters. And much to Anderson’s excitement, the Vols didn’t surrender any walks on the night.
Using a number of arms made sense for Tennessee due to a few minors injury and the fact that Zander Sechrist pitched 2.1 innings in Sunday’s series finale over Ole Miss. It worked for the Vols against the Golden Eagles.
Blake Burke Chasing History
Blake Burke is closer-and-closer to Tennessee baseball history.
Burke’s fifth inning three-run homer was the 39th of his career. He’s now tied with Evan Russell for the second most home runs in program history and is one home run behind Luc Lipcius for the program record.
The junior first baseman has to outlast his own teammate for the record as fellow junior Christian Moore is currently at 37 career home runs and will also pass Lipcius this season.
But more important than the home run record is just how good Blake Burke has been at the plate this season. He currently boasts a 16-game hit streak and a 23-game on-base streak and has reached base in every game he’s played since the season opener.
He’s hitting .378 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs. His 14 doubles are tied for second nationally. Burke has been even better in SEC play where he’s hitting .417 with three doubles, one home run and three RBIs in six games.
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New Guys In New Spots
Due to some more minor injuries in the field and the fact that it was a mid week game, Tennessee’s lineup had a different flare to it on Tuesday night.
Billy Amick missed the game as he battles an appendix injury. With the star third baseman out, freshman shortstop Dean Curley slide over to third base and freshman shortstop Ariel Antigua made his first career start.
Antigua was quiet at the plate, hitting zero-of-three but he was busy in the field. He tied the program single-game record with nine assists on the night. Antigua made a number of impressive plays in the field including a spectacular one in the fifth inning.
The kid can play folks… 🤯@SportsCenter
#GBO // #SCTop10 // #WebGem pic.twitter.com/C8G7sNv7iU
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) March 26, 2024
The one other repercussion of Amick being out of the lineup was that Christian Moore moved out of the leadoff spot and into the three-hole. Robin Villeneuve moved into the leadoff spot and had a fantastic night, hitting three-of-three.
Dylan Dreiling is a little banged up and got the night off. Villeneuve started in left field, Hunter Ensley started in center field and Reese Chapman started in right field while Kavares Tears started at designated hitter.
Chapman continues to take advantage of his recent opportunities. He went four-of-four at the plate including a bunt single and a no doubt three-run homer to right field and the two-run double that ended the game in the seventh inning.
Charlie Taylor got his third start of the season behind the plate where he drove in a run with a fielder’s choice.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend where they’ll host Georgia in a three-game series. First pitch for the Friday night series opener is at 6:30 p.m. ET.
