Tennessee baseball completed the series sweep of Hofstra, run-ruling the Pride 13-1 in seven innings at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville. With the lopsided win, the Vols outscored Hofstra 46-2 in the three game series.
Here’s how the Vols got it done in the Sunday matinee.
Strong But Not Fantastic Outing For Nate Snead
Tennessee entered the weekend having announced just two of its starting pitchers while leaving the Sunday spot open. Tony Vitello decided to give the ball to Nate Snead, his top returning pitcher from last season’s team.
It was a strong but not elite outing from Snead with the right hander allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three in three innings pitched.
Hofstra scored one run on Snead in the first inning but the right-handed pitcher was better in the game’s opening frame than he was in the second inning. The Pride small balled their way to a run in the first with leadoff man Jake Harring reaching on a bunt single, stealing second, reaching third on a groundout and scoring on sac fly.
Snead kept Hofstra off the board in the second inning but looked much more shaky. He allowed a leadoff double, walked a pair of batters including one on just four pitches. But to the junior’s credit, he got out out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a soft grounder to first base.
Snead’s final inning was his best, sitting down the Pride in order. The tall right handers slider was sharp on the afternoon while his fastball was sitting around 92-93 MPH. It was a good season debut for Snead but he certainly didn’t lock down the Sunday starting spot either.
Tennessee Capitalizes On Hofstra’s Mistakes
Tennessee jumped on Hofstra early, scoring four runs in the first inning and eight runs in the second inning to all but put the game away. The Vols largely did their damage by capitalizing on Hofstra mistakes.
Hofstra stating pitcher Branden Brown pitched just 1.1 innings and walked seven Tennessee batters in the process. His defense wasn’t much better behind him. The Pride recorded three errors while he was in the game and there easily could have been another when first baseman Sean Lane booted a chopper.
Tennessee made them pay for the mistakes. The Vols scored eight runs in the second inning on just three hits. One of those hits came the first at-bat after Grady Lacourciere replaced Brown as Reese Chapman it a grand slam. It was Tennessee’s second grand slam of the weekend after Hunter Ensley hit one on Saturday.
Hofstra finished the game with just those three errors and had more shaky defense including two players running into each other and dropping a pop up in foul territory.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball A Two-Seed In March Madness Bracket Preview Show
Pair Of Relief Pitchers Make Tennessee Debut
Tennessee used four relief pitchers after Snead, giving each one inning to each of them. A pair of Vols made their Tennessee debut in the action.
Junior college transfer Ryan Combs was sharp in his inning, striking out a pair and allowing only a seeing eye single on a softly hit ball. The right hander threw 17 pitches and 11 strikes.
Combs is the younger brother of former Tennessee pitcher Aaron Combs. He has a similar delivery as his older brother and a heavy metal warmup song as well.
Junior college transfer Austin Breedlove made his Tennessee debut in the seventh inning and had a nice outing, retiring the side in order with a trio of groundouts. The right handers fastball was sitting at 90 MPH.
Box Score
Up Next
Tennessee baseball is back in action on Tuesday evening when they face UNC Asheville at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m. ET and the SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
