Tennessee baseball salvaged its weekend series by using an offensive explosion to beat LSU 14-7 Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge.
The Vols’ offense came out the games red-hot, taking a 10-0 lead before withstanding a LSU middle innings push to earn the victory over the top-ranked Tigers.
Here’s three takeaways as Tennessee leaves Baton Rouge with a victory.
Tennessee’s Offense Sets The Tone Early
Tennessee hadn’t gotten off to a bad start in either of the first two games of the weekend series. But the Vols hadn’t done anything like they did in Saturday’s series finale.
Tony Vitello said the key for the Vols was to “keep going” after dropping the series’ first two games. Tennessee’s offense kept going and more early as the Vols jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the game’s first two innings.
It started rather simply, Maui Ahuna worked a leadoff walk and Dylan Dreiling legged out an infield single. Then the storm broke. A Christian Moore double brought both runners home and Jared Dickey singled Moore home. The Vols got runners on the corners when Gavin Dugas couldn’t get under a Blake Burke pop out and loaded the bases when Hunter Ensley walked an at-bat later.
That ended the day for LSU starter Thatcher Hurd before he recorded an out but it didn’t stop the Vols’ early game offensive onslaught.
Zane Denton worked a bases loaded walk, Kyle Booker drove a run home with a fielder’s choice and Christian Scott drove a run home with a sac bunt before LSU ended a six-run first inning.
After Drew Beam stranded a pair of runners on base in the bottom half of the first inning, Tennessee’s offense went back to work in the second inning.
Ensley provided the big hit in the second inning, bringing home a pair of runs with a double to the gap before Booker and Scott RBI hits made it a four-run second inning and gave Tennessee a 10-0 lead.
LSU added a run in the bottom half of the second but it was still a 10-1 start for Tennessee in the first two innings as the Vols got off to a red-hot start.
More From RTI: Play-By-Play For Tennessee’s Game Three Victory Over LSU
Defensive Miscues Open The Door For LSU Comeback
Even with a 10-run lead, LSU’s high powered offense presented plenty of threats to make a game out of the series finale. As was the case in each of the series first two games, simple defensive mistakes proved costly and opened the door for an LSU comeback.
The struggles started in the bottom half of the second inning when a Maui Ahuna throwing error to first base allowed Jared Jones to score from second base.
Tennessee starter Drew Beam was in the midst of a long one-out battle with Dylan Crews when he attempted to pick off Tre Morgan at first. Burke caught the ball but lost it as he tried to tag Morgan. Crews made Tennessee pay with a RBI single up the middle before Beam retired the next two batters to end the inning.
Perhaps the biggest mistake was Beam’s when he couldn’t make a simple throw to first in the fourth inning. That gave LSU runners on first and second with no outs and set up a four-run inning for the Tigers. The damage came with two-outs including a two-run Morgan double and a two-run Crews single.
Beam’s day ended after the fourth inning and while the sophomore allowed just one earned run, he allowed six total runs. Simple defensive miscues allowed LSU to claw back within striking distance by the middle of the game.
Tennessee’s offense had enough juice in the tank as did the Vols’ bullpen to secure the win but the simple defensive miscues continued Saturday.
The Outfield Shines
Tennessee’s outfield play has been a major topic of discussion all season. The Vols have rotated players in the three starting spots all season and have particularly struggled to find a consistent answer at center field. But Tennessee’s outfield capped off a solid weekend with a fantastic performance in the series finale.
Let’s start with Hunter Ensley who has somewhat come out of nowhere to take the reins of the center fielder job. Ensley has seemingly locked up that job with his blend of solid defense and a steady bat. The Volunteer State native was all over the ball in the series finale, going two-of-four at the plate with a pair of RBIs.
Christian Scott has done a lot of the same things Ensley has to become a consistent starter in the outfield in his super senior season. Scott’s fantastic defensively in center or right field (where he was Saturday). When he gives the Vols enough with his bat, he’s hard to keep out of the starting lineup.
Scott has been doing the little things well and that started in his first at-bat when he laid down a safety squeeze to bring home a run. It was a near perfect bunt and Scott reached base on a fielding error. The Clarksville, Tennessee native added a RBI single as a part of his one-for-four day at the plate.
Left fielder Kyle Booker hasn’t been in the starting lineup much frequently but returned to it for the series finale at LSU. The junior made the most of his opportunity against the Tigers, going three-of-five at the plate with two RBIs. Booker made a couple of nice plays in the field too, throwing a runner out at third and making a diving catch with the bases loaded.
While Tennessee had defensive issues again in game three, they didn’t come from the outfield.
Final Stats
Up Next
Tennessee returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium Thursday night for its series opener against Florida. The Vols do not have a midweek game this week.
