SCORE: Vols 7, Aggies 4 | FINAL
***SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED***
Top-ranked Tennessee baseball (46-11, 22-8 SEC) is set to battle No. 4 Texas A&M (44-12, 19-11 SEC) Thursday in Hoover in game 10 of the SEC Tournament. The matchup serves as Tennessee’s second game in Hoover and Texas A&M’s second.
First pitch in Hoover Met is currently scheduled at approximately 2 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
This will be Tennessee’s first matchup against Texas A&M this season. Texas A&M has been one of the SEC’s best teams and won the SEC West, giving them the second overall seed in the SEC Tournament. Tennessee is the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
Tennessee enters Thursday’s matchup coming off an ugly 13-4 loss to 8-seed Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Head coach Tony Vitello used a Johnny Wholestaff pitching plan, starting Nate Snead before using a plethora of relievers. While Andrew Behnke, Kirby Connell and AJ Russell were either average or good, Marcus Phillips, Dylan Loy and Matthew Dallas did not seize their opportunity, which led to Vanderbilt taking a sizable lead.
Despite the loss, AJ Russell returning for Tennessee was significant. He bounced back after allowing a pair of baserunners to record a scoreless inning on 22 pitches. It was Russell’s first action since late March against Ole Miss.
RETURN: AJ Russell is back for Tennessee
While Vitello used a midweek pitching approach to gauge the depth of his bullpen against tough competition on Wednesday, Tennessee will likely take a more traditional approach and throw its best punch against the Aggies Thursday in Hoover.
Texas A&M enters Thursday’s matchup coming off a 5-3 loss to 5-seed Mississippi State on Wednesday night. Like Tennessee, the Aggies used multiple arms and could not overcome an early deficit against the Bulldogs.
Prior to Hoover, the Vols are coming off a series sweep over South Carolina in Knoxville that ultimately gave them a share of the SEC regular season crown with Kentucky. Additionally, the series sweep gave Tennessee the No. 1 overall seed in the SEC Tournament.
Read more about Tennessee winning the SEC here.
RECAP: Vols drop SEC Tournament opener to Vanderbilt
TRANSCRIPT: Tony Vitello Recaps Blowout Loss to Vanderbilt
With both teams having lost on Wednesday, Thursday’s game serves as an elimination game. The winner will face the loser of Vanderbilt vs. Mississippi State in the second game on Friday.
Injury Note
-Sophomore RHP AJ Russell is officially ON the ACTIVE roster this week in Hoover, having made his return Wednesday night vs. Vanderbilt. No surprise after Tony Vitello’s update last Saturday.
For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, including RTI’s INSTANT reaction to Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt, click here.
For the latest RTI Press Pass baseball podcast, click here.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball vs. Texas A&M in SEC Tournament: How To Watch, What To Know
WATCH: Tony Vitello Discusses SEC Tournament Loss to Vanderbilt
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.
Starting Lineups
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
2B Christian Moore (R)
1B Blake Burke (L)
3B Billy Amick (R)
LF Dylan Dreiling (L)
CF Hunter Ensley (R)
RF Kavares Tears (L)
SS Dean Curley (R)
DH Reese Chapman (L)
C Cal Stark (R)
Lineup Notes:
- Chapman gets the DH start for the second straight day over Dalton Bargo, Cannon Peebles, Colby Backus and others.
- Other 8 starters the same it’s been as of late in SEC play.
TEXAS A&M STARTING NINE:
3B Gavin Grahovac (R)
CF Jace LaViolette (L)
RF Braden Montgomery (S)
C Jackson Appel (S)
1B Ted Burton (R)
DH Hayden Schott (L)
SS Ali Camarillo (R)
LF Caden Sorrell (L)
2B Travis Chestnut (R)
Pitching Matchup:
Vols Gr-Sr. LHP Chris Stamos (3-0, 3.42 ERA, 17 app., 6 starts, 26.1 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 14 BB, 29 K, 7 XBH, .180 opp. batting avg., 1.14 WHIP)
vs.
Aggies RS-So. Ryan Prager (8-1, 2.47 ERA, 14 app., 14 starts, 1 CG, 76.2 IP, 59 H, 25 R, 21 ER, 13 BB, 104 K, .207 opp. batting avg., 0.94 WHIP)
Pitching notes:
- Stamos gets the start after Tennessee used a midweek approach for Wednesday’s game. Vols are treating this like a series opener with their likely pitching plan of Stamos opening before giving way to Causey.
- Prager is A&M’s ace. Tennessee will have its hands full against the Aggies’ best pitcher on Thursday.
Uniforms
Tennessee: Orange tops, white bottoms
Texas A&M: Maroon tops, grey bottoms
*NOTES*
- There IS a RUN-RULE today. If Tennessee or Texas A&M leads by 10 or more runs in the seventh inning or later, the game is OVER.
- The run-rule is MANDATORY in SEC play.
- Tennessee IS the HOME team.
GAME THREAD
1st Inning:
T1
-Gavin Grahovac flies out to RF.
-Jace LaViolette strikes out swinging.
-Braden Montgomery strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B1
-Christian Moore reaches on a throwing error by 3B.
- Throw took Ted Burton off the bag allowing Moore to reach.
-Blake Burke grounds out to 3B. Moore advances to second.
-Billy Amick flies out to CF.
-Dylan Dreiling works a walk. 40th walk of the season (team lead).
-Hunter Ensley flies out to LF.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Aggies 0
2nd Inning:
T2
-Jackson Appel flies out to RF.
-Ted Burton works a walk.
-Hayden Schott reaches on a fielder’s choice to 1B as Burton is out at second, 3-6.
-Ali Camarillo strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B2
-Kavares Tears singles to deep right field.
- Ricocheted off the fence right to the right fielder, who was able to hold Tears at first.
-Dean Curley reaches on a fielder’s choice to 3B. Tears out at second, 5-4.
-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging.
-Cal Stark strikes out swinging, out at first C to 1B.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Aggies 0
3rd Inning:
T3
-Caden Sorrell grounds out to 1B unassisted.
-Travis Chestnut flies out to LF.
-Gavin Grahovac smacks a solo homer to RF.
-Jace LaViolette grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
B3
-Christian Moore legs out an infield single to P.
-Blake Burke singles to LF.
-Billy Amick works a walk.
- Bases loaded with no outs for Dylan Dreiling.
-Dylan Dreiling knocks a sac fly to RF. Burke advances to third.
*Pitching change: RHP Brock Peery (2-0, 3.38 ERA) on to pitch for Prager*
- Prager was clearly on a pitch count as he gets pulled with 53 pitches on the day.
-Hunter Ensley grounds into a 1-3-2 inning-ending double play.
- Bad baserunning from Blake Burke.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 1, Aggies 1
4th Inning:
T4
-Braden Montgomery pops up to 2B in shallow RF.
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP AJ Causey (10-3, 4.08 ERA) on to pitch for Stamos*
- Season-long outing for Stamos (3.1 innings).
-Jackson Appel sends a single to CF.
-Ted Burton strikes out swinging.
Appel steals second.
-Hayden Schott intentionally walked.
-Ali Camarillo flies out to CF.
END OF TOP HALF
B4
-Kavares Tears flies out to CF.
-Dean Curley works a walk.
-Reese Chapman works a walk. Curley advances to second.
-Cal Stark is walked.
- Bases loaded with one out for Christian Moore.
-Christian Moore lays down an RBI groundout to 1B, unassisted. Curley scores, Chapman advances to third, Stark advances to second.
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Tanner Jones (3-1, 6.64 ERA) on to pitch for Peery*
-Blake Burke grounds out to 2B.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 2, Aggies 1
5th Inning:
T5
-Caden Sorrell singles to 1B.
*Kaeden Kent pinch-hitting for Travis Chestnut*
Sorrell steals second.
-Kaeden Kent strikes out swinging.
-Gavin Grahovac grounds out to 3B.
-Jace LaViolette strikes out looking.
END OF TOP HALF
B5
*Kent to 2B*
-Billy Amick reaches on a throwing error by 3B.
- Grahovac’s throw took Burton off the bag. Similar to Christian Moore reaching earlier in the game.
-Dylan Dreiling drives a single through the right side.
Amick caught stealing third, 2-5. Dreiling steals second.
-Hunter Ensley strikes out looking.
-Kavares Tears rips an RBI double down the RF line.
- Big hit from Tears. Would’ve been a two-run double if Tennessee didn’t do the double steal attempt.
-Dean Curley strikes out swinging.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 3, Aggies 1
6th Inning:
T6
-Braden Montgomery out at first 1B to P.
-Jackson Appel hammers a solo homer to RF.
-Ted Burton singles to CF, advances to second on a fielding error by Hunter Ensley.
- Bobbled the ball when going to scoop it in center.
-Hayden Schott flies out to CF in shallow right-center.
-Ali Camarillo strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B6
-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging.
-Cal Stark flies out to LF.
-Christian Moore doubles down the LF line.
-Blake Burke grounds out to 3B.
- Throw was bad but the first baseman was able to make the tag.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 3, Aggies 2
7th Inning:
T7
-Caden Sorrell strikes out swinging.
-Kaeden Kent strikes out swinging.
-Gavin Grahovac strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B7
-Billy Amick is walked.
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Josh Stewart (1-2, 3.74 ERA) on to pitch for Jones*
-Dylan Dreiling reaches on a fielder’s choice to 1B as Amick is out at second, 3-6. Dreiling advances to second on a throwing error by SS.
-Hunter Ensley deposits a single into right field. Dreiling advances to third.
-Kavares Tears launches a three-run homer to LF.
- Tears’ big day continues. Huge homer from Tennessee. 17th HR of the season for Tears.
-Dean Curley pops up to 3B.
*Dalton Bargo pinch-hitting for Reese Chapman*
-Dalton Bargo grounds out to SS.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 6, Aggies 2
8th Inning:
T8
-Jace LaViolette singles to 2B in shallow RF.
-Braden Montgomery flies out to LF.
*Pitching change: Sr. LHP Kirby Connell (4-0, 3.97 ERA) on to pitch for Causey*
-Jackson Appel flies out to RF.
-Ted Burton ropes an RBI double off the LF wall.
Burton steals third.
-Hayden Schott works a walk.
-Ali Camarillo flies out to RF.
END OF TOP HALF
B8
-Cal Stark destroys a solo homer to LF. Ball was crushed.
- 6th HR of Stark’s season.
*Pitching change: Fr. RHP Weston Moss (3-0, 5.40 ERA) on to pitch for Stewart*
-Christian Moore cracks a single to right field.
-Blake Burke HBP. Moore advances to second.
-Billy Amick strikes out looking.
Runners advance on a wild pitch.
-Dylan Dreiling is walked on four pitches.
-Hunter Ensley strikes out swinging.
-Kavares Tears grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
Score: Vols 7, Aggies 3
9th Inning:
T9
*Ariel Antigua to SS for Billy Amick*
*Dean Curley to 3B*
-Caden Sorrell strikes out swinging.
*Jett Johnston pinch-hitting for Kaeden Kent*
-Jett Johnston flies out to CF.
-Gavin Grahovac ropes a solo homer to LF. Mashed.
-Jace LaViolette singles up the middle.
LaViolette steals second.
-Braden Montgomery strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
Score: Vols 7, Aggies 4
END OF GAME
FINAL: Tennessee Vols 7, Texas A&M Aggies 4
