KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday in Knoxville, falling to ETSU, 7-6, in 10 innings.
Hunter Ensley and Brayden Krenzel had big performances, but a pair of late, costly homers propelled the Buccaneers to the win.
The loss drops Tennessee’s record to 20-1 and snaps a 22-game winning streak. The Vols were one win shy of tying the longest winning streak in program history.
Here’s how Tennessee lost the Tuesday night thriller.
ETSU Finds Early Success Against Trio of Tennessee Arms
ETSU scored four runs in the first three innings off three Volunteer arms.
The Bucs struck first in the opening frame with a Cooper Torres RBI single off of Tennessee starting pitcher Austin Breedlove. After a Tennessee two-spot in the first, ETSU tied the game in the second when Tristan Curless smoked a two-out solo homer off of Brayden Sharp.
The Bucs later took the lead in the third when Cody Miller smoked a two-run blast just fair to left field against Thomas Crabtree.
ETSU entered Tuesday’s game tied for fourth in the country in home runs, and the power was on display early and late in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Behnke Looks Good in Return
After Austin Hunley – who got the final two outs of the third after Miller’s home run – walked and hit a batter to open the fourth, junior lefty Andrew Behnke took the mound for Tennessee.
Behnke got a fly out and 6-4-3 double play, which was wonderfully executed by shortstop Ariel Antigua and saved a run, to get out of the jam.
Behnke also pitched the fifth, working around a one-out single, walk and trio of stolen bases to strand a pair in scoring position with a soft groundout.
It was Behnke’s first action since February 16 against Hofstra on opening weekend, as he’s been dealing with soreness. Behnke looked good in his return and tossed a pair of needed 0s on the scoreboard.
More From RTI: Former Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper Returning to the SEC
Brayden Krenzel Provides Big-Time Relief Outing
Freshman lefty Bryson Thacker made his career debut in the sixth and faced three batters. The Rome, Georgia, native struck out a pair and walked one before giving way to fellow freshman Brayden Krenzel, who got the final out of the frame.
Krenzel pitched the next 2.1 innings in what was his best, longest and most important outing of the season.
The Dublin, Ohio, native allowed no runs on just two hits while striking out two and walking none. The game was tied or Tennessee was trailing for the entirety of Krenzel’s outing, magnifying the significance of his time on the mound.
The freshman got a double play to work around a pair of singles in the seventh before recording a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out in the eighth.
Krenzel entered the game having pitched just 4.1 innings on the season, and he hadn’t gone longer than an inning.
In a career-long outing, Krenzel was one of the biggest bright spots on a tough Tuesday night.
Hunter Ensley Has Pair of Clutch Hits
It was a quiet day for Tennessee’s offense, but Hunter Ensley delivered on multiple occasions late in the game.
The Vols scored a pair of runs in the first inning thanks to an ETSU fielding error with the bases loaded. Tennessee didn’t score again until the fifth, when Gavin Kilen hammered his team-leading 10th home run of the year.
Kilen hit nine home runs in 100 games across two years at Louisville. In 21 games as a Vol, he’s hit 10.
Ensley’s first big hit came in the seventh. The redshirt senior roped an RBI double to left to score Jay Abernathy, who worked a nine-pitch leadoff walk, to tie the game.
An inning later, Ensley smoked another RBI double, this time to take the lead. In a bases-loaded situation with two outs, Ensley ripped a line drive deep into left field to give Tennessee a 6-4 lead.
While Tennessee lost, Ensley put Tennessee in a good position entering the final frame.
Late, Costly Homers Propel ETSU to the Win
Tennessee lost the lead in the ninth when junior righty Ryan Combs allowed a two-run homer to ETSU leadoff man Jamie Palmese. Palmese’s blast forced the game to go into the bottom of the ninth and ultimately extras, a Lindsey Nelson Stadium first in 2025.
Kennesaw State transfer Tanner Franklin got the final two outs of the ninth before pitching the 10th. Franklin gave up a go-ahead two-out homer in the 10th to ETSU’s slugger Grant Gallagher.
While he allowed the deciding run, Franklin looked better than he did in the Florida series, retiring five of six batters.
The junior’s bounce back is a positive sign as Tennessee enters a tough SEC series at Alabama.
Offensively, the Vols had runners on in the ninth and 10th but couldn’t get the walk-off hit. Chris Newstrom struck out with the winning run at first to end the game.
Up Next
Tennessee is back in action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The series opener will be Tennessee’s first true road game of the season. ESPNU has the broadcast.
