CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 20/23 Tennessee had its season come to a close on Saturday afternoon with a 5-4 loss to VCU in the Chapel Hill Regional at Boshamer Stadium.
A couple of missed opportunities in the early innings proved costly as the Volunteers left five runners on base, including three in scoring position over the first two frames.
Despite that, UT (38-22) was still able to strike first via a Reese Chapman two-run homer in the top of the third inning.
The Rams (38-24) answered back with a leadoff solo homer from Trent Adelman in the bottom of the third and looked like they would tie the game later in the inning on a single by Jacob Lee, but a perfect throw from left fielder Garrett Wright cut down the runner at home plate to end the inning.
Despite battling an illness, Tennessee starter Tegan Kuhns got off to a fantastic start by striking out five batters over the first two innings. However, the sophomore right-hander was only able to make it through four innings when it was all said and done, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk.
VCU scored two runs in consecutive innings to take a lead it would not relinquish, tagging Kuhns for two in the fourth before getting two more off of reliever Brady Frederick on a Nate Kirkpatrick two-run double in the fifth to take a 5-2 lead.
Mark Hindy did well to be alert and cut down an attempted steal of home plate to end the fifth inning and limit the damage to just two runs to keep the Vols within striking distance.
Stone Lawless hammered a 3-1 pitch over the left-field wall in the top of the sixth to cut the VCU lead to two runs. Lawless and the Big Orange continued to battle back with another run in the eighth as the redshirt sophomore catcher drove in Levi Clark with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-4 game.
While Tennessee was battling back at the plate, freshman reliever Cam Appenzeller was dominating on the mound to keep the Rams from extending their lead. The lefty retired all eight batters he faced, striking out five of them.
Tennessee got the tying run on base in the top of the ninth via a one-out walk, but a strikeout and a line out to right field ended the game as Zachary Peters nailed down his seventh save of the season.
UT outhit the VCU, 10-7, for the game and had seven different players finish with a hit, including multi-hit days from Wright, Trent Grindlinger and Chapman.
With their appearance in this year’s Chapel Hill Regional, the Big Orange extended their NCAA Tournament streak to seven straight, building on their program record.
