Vols Jump Out to Early Lead & Cruise to Midweek Win Over Austin Peay

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee cruised to a 13–4 midweek win over in-state foe Austin Peay on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols’ bats got hot early and never looked back, plating 10 runs over the first three innings.

The Big Orange (19-10, 3-6 SEC) got off to a fast start in the bottom of the first inning with leadoff man Garrett Wright lacing a double down the left field line. Two batters later, Henry Ford parked a home run into the second deck of the porches in left center field to drive in the game’s first two runs. 

After a Blake Grimmer single and a Reese Chapman walk put runners on first and second with one out, sophomore shortstop Manny Marin lined a single up the middle to bring Grimmer around to score, giving the Vols an early three-run lead. 

With one out in the bottom of the second, Jay Abernathy reached second base after an error on a dropped fly ball by the left fielder and then came around to score on an infield single by Wright, extending the UT lead to four. 

The Governors (14-15, 5-4 ASUN) scored their first run of the game after third baseman Ray Velazquez hit a home run into the first deck of the porches, making the score 4-1. 

The Tennessee offense responded in a big way in the bottom of the third as they batted around in the inning. The six-run frame was highlighted by a two-run single from Levi Clark and a three-run bomb off the bat of Wright, making the score 10-1 heading into the fourth.  

APSU pushed another run across in the top of the sixth after back-to-back singles set up a sacrifice fly by Zion Taylor, but the Vols responded immediately with one of their own in the bottom half. Second baseman Tyler Myatt launched a solo homer into the parking lot beyond the right field wall, extending the lead back to nine. 

The Govs plated two more in the eighth to make the score 11-4 before UT answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the eighth. After Brown reached on a single and Ford on a fielder’s choice, Taylor’s rough night defensively continued as he misplayed another fly ball in left field, allowing both runners to score. 

Junior submariner Brady Frederick came on to pitch the final 1.2 innings and retired five straight, sealing the 13-4 win. 

Freshmen relievers Jax Bishop and Chandler Day recorded scoreless outings in the win Tuesday night while fellow frosh Ethan Baiotto showed well in his first-career start, tossing three innings while allowing one run and striking out a pair. Mark Hindy earned the win with 1.1 scoreless frames of relief. 

UP NEXT: The Vols will be back inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend as they host the LSU Tigers for a three-game set. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday on the SEC Network.