KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17/19 Tennessee cruised to its fourth straight win behind a dominant performance from its pitching staff and home runs from Blaine Brown and Ariel Antigua.
The Volunteers took off right out of the gate with two straight singles from Jay Abernathy and Henry Ford. Abernathy came in to score after the Oakland first baseman made an error on a Reese Chapman ground ball, giving the Vols an early 1-0 lead.
With two runners on and one out, first baseman Blake Grimmer stepped in for his first at-bat of the season and laced a double off the wall in left-center field, clearing the bases to extend the UT lead to three.
The Big Orange added three more to their tally in the bottom of the third. Brown led off the inning with a 113-mph rocket off the right field wall to set up another Chapman RBI with a single through the right side. A Chris Newstrom ground out, and a Trent Grindlinger single to center field plated one run apiece, making the score 6-0 Volunteers after three innings.
Brown kept the train rolling in the fourth inning with a two-run home run into the parking lot behind right field, increasing the Tennessee lead to eight.
The Golden Grizzlies scored their first run of the game in the sixth on a solo shot to left by shortstop Kyle Revere and added one more on a home run by left fielder Tony Konopiots in the seventh, making the score 8-2.
After a quiet next two innings from the Vols, Antigua got UT back on the board with his first career home run, launching a three-run blast into the porches in left field to cap the scoring for the game.
The Vols cruised through the eighth and ninth innings, retiring the Golden Grizzlies in order in both frames to seal their 10th win of the season.
Grimmer went 3-for-4 at the dish with a pair of RBIs in his season debut to lead the Big Orange offensively while junior Bowling Green transfer Garrett Wright also had a pair of hits and reached base four times during his first time in the lineup this year after recovering from a broken hamate bone.
Freshmen pitchers Jax Bishop and Will Haas both made their first collegiate appearances on the mound, each getting an inning of work in the victory.
Tennessee pitching combined for 15 strikeouts on the night, with freshman left-hander Taylor Tracey leading the way. The Texas native tossed three innings of no-hit baseball and struck out seven Grizzlies in his first career start.
Nic Abraham earned his second-career win after tossing two scoreless innings of relief and striking out three batters as the first arm out of the bullpen.
UP NEXT: The Vols continue their six-game homestand on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium as they host Wright State for a three-game set.
