KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball run-ruled St. Bonaventure Saturday in Lindsey Nelson Stadium 11-1 in seven innings to clinch the weekend series.
Freshman Manny Marin had an incredible 3-4 night at the plate with two doubles and a walk-off grand slam and starting pitcher Marcus Phillips was great on the mound.
Here’s how it happened as Tennessee recorded its 15th win of the season and 10th by 10 more runs to remain undefeated.
Marcus Phillips in Full Control
St. Bonaventure struck first in the opening frame when leadoff man Jayce Tharnish hammered a homer to right field off of Phillips, but the junior quickly bounced back, retiring his next eight batters.
Phillips wouldn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning, a one-out double, but the South Dakota native got a fly-out and pop-up to strand the runner.
The hard-throwing righty’s outing came to an end in the sixth inning after a two-out double. Phillips finished his outing with only three hits and one run allowed while striking out five batters and walking none. He also earned the first win of his Tennessee career.
Phillips has been very good this season, but you could argue he was at his best Saturday. He recorded his first walk-free outing of the season against the Bonnies. Phillips entered Saturday having allowed six walks in 14.1 innings across three appearances this season.
Phillips also gave up less than two earned runs once again, as he hasn’t given up multiple earned runs in a single outing yet this year.
“A lot of composure, really good presence,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said about Phillips’ outing. “At times last year, we were overly critical of him in that category, and I think it was because we envisioned what he could become. And I think he’s in the process of becoming that… He did well throwing strikes and a bunch of Ks.”
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Consistent Offense Throughout
After a quiet first inning, Tennessee took its first lead of the game in the second. Third-baseman Manny Marin got a double to drop just fair down the left-field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position for Dalton Bargo.
Tennessee’s left fielder continued his strong series at the plate and delivered with a two-run single to right field to give the Vols the lead. Bargo finished 1-3 on the night with the single and has recorded three hits this series after an 0-9 slump at the plate.
Tennessee added to its lead in the fourth off the bat of first-baseman Andrew Fischer, who smoked an RBI double to the left-center gap to score Hunter Ensley, who walked.
The Vols added to their lead in the fifth with a pair of runs. Dean Curley walked to open the frame and Gavin Kilen drove a single to right field. After stealing a base each, Curley and Kilen were brought home thanks to sac flies from Hunter Ensley and Andrew Fischer, respectively.
Tennessee scored a pair of runs again in the sixth to extend its lead to six runs.
Marin recorded his second double of the night with a one-out rope down the left-field line. Curley then brought him home with a two-run homer to right field. A true Lindsey Nelson Special, Curley’s sixth blast of the season went 333 feet and just made it over the wall.
Manny Marin Grand Slam Ends the Game
Tennessee scored four runs in the seventh inning to run-rule St. Bonaventure and clinch the series.
The Vols quickly loaded the bases with a Levi Clark leadoff walk, Reese Chapman double and Cannon Peebles hit-by-pitch. After a St. Bonaventure pitching change, Marin then crushed a grand slam to left field to end the game.
The grand slam marked Marin’s first of his career and Tennessee’s eighth of the season in 15 games. The NCAA single-season record is 14 (Arizona State – 2003).
Additionally, the grand slam marked Tennessee’s second run-rule walk-off grand slam this week.
Marin has been very consistent all season long and Saturday was the best game of his freshman career. In his return to the starting lineup after a three-game absence, Marin finished 3-4 at the plate with two doubles and a grand slam.
“He kind of took a shot in the nose against Arizona, and we didn’t realize it until after the game, and so that’s why he didn’t get midweek action,” Vitello said about Marin. “He’s got some toughness to him… We didn’t know that originally, and then he’s got some ability on the back end. He just went out there and did what he’s capable of doing, [which is] what he did on a very big stage last Friday against Oklahoma State.”
Despite his smaller frame, Marin has shown the ability to hit for power.
“He’s capable of doing tremendous things at the plate because of the whip that he’s got in that bat,” Vitello said.
Junior righty Nate Snead was Tennessee’s arm for the final four outs. Snead got a quick groundout to end the sixth after relieving Phillips and retired the side in the seventh with a trio of groundouts on just eight pitches.
**Note** Chapman’s seventh-inning double extended his hit streak to 15 games. He has had a hit in every game this season.
Up Next
Tennessee will look to sweep St. Bonaventure Sunday in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network +
