CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Despite battling back on multiple occasions, No. 20/23 Tennessee was unable to deliver the final blow it needed to defeat East Carolina, falling 7-3 in a 14-inning marathon in the opening game of the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional on Friday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
The Volunteers got a pair of excellent pitching performances from Evan Blanco and Bo Rhudy, but the bats were unable to find consistent success against a talented Pirates’ pitching staff that presented a variety of different looks throughout the game.
UT (38-21) was held to just three hits heading into the ninth inning before a Henry Ford solo home run to tie the game at two with the Vols down to their final out.
Blanco gave the Big Orange all they could have asked for with his start, holding ECU to just one run while scattering seven hits and striking out four batters over seven strong innings of work.
Rhudy entered with one out and two runners on in the top of the ninth after the Pirates had taken a 2-1 lead and was able to keep them from doing any more damage, setting the stage for Ford’s clutch blast to left field in the bottom of the inning to send the game to extras.
Rhudy went on to pitch a career-high four innings and struck out four while giving up just one run on three hits to keep Tennessee in the game.
After three scoreless extra innings, East Carolina (37-22-1) pulled ahead once again in the top of the 13th on a squeeze bunt by Colby Wallace to make it 3-2. However, just like they did in the ninth, the Vols displayed their fight and answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame to knot things up at three and send the game to the 14th inning, tying the UT record for the longest postseason game in program history.
Blake Grimmer singled up the middle for his second RBI of the game, driving in Garrett Wright, who reached on a one-out double one batter prior. Grimmer finished as the Vols’ top hitter for the day, finishing 2-for-6 with a solo homer and two RBIs.
The momentum was short-lived for Tennessee, however, as ECU punched back with four runs in the top of the 14th to all but put the game away.
The Vols had chances to win the game in the 11th and 12th innings but were unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position and less than two outs on both occasions.
Brett Antolick earned the win for the Pirates after striking out five batters and allowing just one run on three hits over 2.2 innings of relief. Despite giving up the game-tying home run to Ford in the ninth, left-hander Ethan Norby also shined on the mound for ECU, racking up eight strikeouts and giving up just two hits in 4.2 innings out of the bullpen.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will have to fight its way out of the loser’s bracket to keep its season alive, starting tomorrow at noon with an elimination game against the loser of Friday night’s contest between No. 5 national seed North Carolina and VCU.
