KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball used a seven-run sixth inning and a great night from the pitching staff to dominate Xavier in a 13-1 midweek victory Wednesday in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols trailed entering the fourth inning but tallied all 11 of their 13 runs across the next three frames while a collection of five bullpen arms kept Xavier scoreless after the second inning.
Tennessee improves to 13-0 with the win and has scored 10 or more runs in eight games, all of which are wins by 10 or more runs.
Here’s how it happened on a cold night in Knoxville.
Austin Breedlove Excels in Relief Appearance
Junior right-handed pitcher Thomas Crabtree received his first career start in a Tennessee uniform Tuesday. The JUCO transfer pitched two innings, allowing two hits and one run while walking no batters and striking out four.
Xavier designated hitter Isaac Wachsmann took Crabtree deep in the second, roping an 0-1 pitch into the second deck of the left-field porches to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Crabtree’s day was done after the second frame as junior righty Austin Breedlove entered the game in the third.
Breedlove was excellent in a 3.0-inning relief appearance, allowing just one baserunner via walk.
The Ooltewah, Tennessee, native retired the first seven batters he faced and finished his outing having retired nine of his 10 batters. The highlight of his inning came in the third frame when he sat the top of Xavier’s lineup down in order on just six pitches.
Breedlove has been an above average depth piece in the Tennessee bullpen so far this season, and Wednesday may result in more opportunities down the road.
“Efficient with his pitches,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said of Breedlove. “He was forcing them to swing the bat, and they weren’t taking very comfortable swings at all. The fact he was able to do that, as tight as the game was, kind of gave everybody a sense of comfort that we’re not gonna be trying to piece things together in crazy fashion.”
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Andrew Fischer, Levi Clark Get Things Going
Tennessee had a sluggish start at the plate, totaling just one hit and one baserunner in the first three innings.
Gavin Kilen sparked the Vols in the fourth, knocking a leadoff double to left field before advancing to third on a Hunter Ensley groundout.
Andrew Fischer then brought Kilen home, crushing a two-run homer over the right-center wall to give Tennessee its first lead.
Fischer’s long ball marked his fifth on the season and fourth in three games. After a semi-cold start to the season offensively, Fischer has been Tennessee’s best offensive weapon in the last 25 innings.
Freshman Levi Clark, another top offensive option for Tennessee, continued his excellent season Wednesday, delivering a clutch two-run double in the fifth to extend Tennessee’s lead.
Kuhns Delivers With Back Against the Wall
Highly-touted freshman righty Tegan Kuhns got the ball to begin the sixth inning and immediately ran into trouble.
Kuhns allowed a leadoff double then plunked his next two batters to load the bases with no outs.
But after a mound meeting, the freshman delivered with his back against the wall.
Kuhns struck out his next two batters despite getting squeezed a bit then got a pop-up to strand all three runners.
Kuhns has pitched sparingly so far this season but retiring the side in a bases-loaded, no outs situation was undoubtedly his most impressive moment so far in his young Tennessee career.
“Frank [Anderson] and I were talking,” Vitello said after the game. “He kind of comes in laughing and kind of looks at his teammates, which is fine if that’s kind of your personality, but you gotta go out there and get the job done. And right off the bat, he didn’t look sharp at all. And then, kind of where he’s probably been at his best since we’ve known who he is as a pitcher or a kid, is when the heat’s on a little bit. The heat was on due to his own self for the most part. But getting out of that was massive.”
Vols Blow Game Open With 7-Spot in the Sixth
Tennessee blew the game open in the sixth inning scoring seven runs on five hits.
Ariel Antigua and Dean Curley each recorded RBI singles before Hunter Ensley sent a sac fly to the warning track in left. Clark then poked an RBI single to right-center, extending the lead further and also giving him the sole team lead in RBIs with 20.
Reese Chapman then officially blew the game wide open shortly thereafter, hammering a three-run home run to left field to give Tennessee a 10-run lead.
Chapman’s long ball marked his fifth of the season and also extended his hit streak to 13 games, as the junior has recorded a hit in every game this season.
Tennessee’s final two runs of the game came in the eighth, when redshirt-freshman catcher Stone Lawless pinch-hit for Levi Clark and drove in a pair of runs with a single to left field.
On the mound, lefty Brayden Sharp got a big strikeout to strand the bases loaded in the seventh, Luke Payne retired the side around a one-out walk in the eighth and freshman Brayden Krenzel worked around a trio of singles in the ninth to keep Xavier scoreless in the final three innings.
Up Next
Tennessee is back in action Friday in game one of a three-game series against St. Bonaventure. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. ET in Knoxville.
