what a Fantastic News: The Vols scored 20 runs for the third time this season, winning a midweek game against Alabama A&M 20-2.

 

Tennessee took advantage of a group of Alabama A&U pitchers who struggled to throw strikes and scored double-digit runs once again, despite only 12 hits in the win.

Tony Vitello used this midweek game to gain work for several players who don’t normally play much, both in the lineup and on the mound.

Dylan Loy started and gave up a no-out single before getting a fly ball out and striking out two in the top of the first. He just pitched one inning in the contest.

The offense got off to an early start with a one-out Blake Burke double, which Dylan Dreiling drove in with a single on a 2-0 count.

The Bulldogs’ pitching staff failed to get the ball over the plate throughout the game, beginning with a Kavares Tears walk following Dreiling’s base-scoring hit. A&M recorded an out before hitting Hunter Ensley, who loaded the bases, and then Cannon Peebles, who scored without putting the ball in play. Bradke Lohry took a ball on a 3-1 count, and Tennessee added another run without hitting a pitch. Ariel Antigua lined out to conclude the period, but the Vols were up 3-0 after the first.

JJ Garcia took the mound in the second inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced while retiring the Alabama A&M hitters in order. The offense did not score a run in the second inning, but it was the only zero for UT that evening.

Tears walked again to begin the third inning, and Vitello substituted former Walters State CC transfer Colby Backus as a pinch runner. Backus produced offensively and defensively later in the game, but he crossed home in the third after stealing second, and the Bulldog pitcher allowed three walks in four innings. One out later, Christian Moore cleared the bases with a first pitch.

The inning finished with a Hunter High strikeout, but Tennessee scored four runs on a single hit.

A&M scored two runs in the fourth inning, both off freshman Matthew Dallas. The Tennessee native gave up a lead-off double and a home run to two of the first three batters he faced before a double scored one run and a groundout to first scored another. Dallas finished the inning with a strikeout, giving him two for the frame, but he was the only Vols pitcher to allow a run.