It was the Kavares Tears show again today
Tennessee baseball started its home schedule off with a win on Tuesday as the Vols out-dueled the UNC Asheville Bulldogs 3-2.
UNC Asheville actually took an early 1-0 lead after scoring a run off freshman starter Derek Schaefer. The Phoenix, Arizona native got a little work this weekend, pitching a third of an inning and giving up 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB with one strikeout.
He fared better against UNC Asheville, though it being a midweek game, Vitello didn’t leave him out long so he could get a look at some of the other arms on the roster.
Schaefer started shaky — leaving the ball up in the zone, walking the lead-off man and giving up a single on a 1-2 pitch after that. He struck out the three-hole hitter on three pitches for the first out of the inning and got a full-count fly out before giving up the run-scoring single. Lucky for Schaefer, Kavares Tears was lurking in right field, just waiting for the base runner to try for third base. Tears may need a hunting permit if he continues to gun runners down like this:
The top of UT’s order went down without much resistance, going 1-2-3 on just nine pitches. Hunter Ensley, Dylan Dreiling and Christian Moore all started their afternoon 0-1.
We saw Schaefer really find his way in the top of the second as he sat down all three batters he faced in order needing just six pitches to get the three outs.
The Vols tied the game in the bottom of the frame in a big way — Kavares Tears hit his second home run of the year, and it was another opposite field blast. Tears looks like he might have the season fans and people around the program have been waiting on since he got here (he’s just a RS sophomore).
Kavares Tears is playing like the guy we all hoped we’d see this year. Opposite field… again pic.twitter.com/3acNWQ0A6B
— RockyTopTalk (@RockyTopTalk) February 20, 2024
Tennessee added another, stranded the runner and ended the inning tied 1-1.
Vitello left Schaefer out for the top of the third, and the freshman rewarded his manager with a clean inning that included two Ks.
UNC Asheville ran into some trouble in the bottom of the third, even after getting the first two outs without much trouble. But then Dreiling singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw, then advanced to second and then to third thanks to a failed pickoff attempt. Moore wasted no time and plated Dreiling with a single to left, which gave UT the lead back at 2-1.
Moore and Tears hit back-to-back singles, and both guys advanced into scoring position thanks to a failed pickoff and a wild pitch. Billy Amick, who we’ll call “Bad Luck” Billy for the game, roped a ball towards left and the ball hit Tears straight in the leg as Moore was heading home and Tears was rounding to third. Amick made contact, I think, on every at bat, but each time the ball went straight to a fielder, or managed to hit a guy on the base paths. The Vols stranded two runners and the Bulldogs finagled their way out of a major jam.
Neither team scored in the fourth, though UT got some quality pitching from sophomore lefty Andrew Behnke. The Nashville native struck out two before giving up the lone base hit of the half inning, as after that he induced a fly-ball out to end the half inning. The bats didn’t manage a hit in the bottom of the fourth or the fifth, while Behnke gave up a solo home run and a single surrounded by two more strikeouts. The HR put the game back in a tie with just three innings left.
Behnke split the sixth with RS freshman and little brother of former Vol pitcher Sean Hunley, Andrew Hunley. Behnke gave up a single and Christian Moore made an error at short which ended Behnke’s outing. Hunley gave up an 0-1 single that advanced two runners into scoring position, but Hunley got a force out at second to end the half inning before any runners could cross home plate.
Once again, the offense pulled a Houdini in the bottom of the inning, with Tears, Burke and Amick going down on three total pitches,
The offense didn’t score a run again until the seventh when a lead-off walk and two pinch hitters and a pinch runner ended up with a Hunter Ensley fly ball to center that scored Brandon Lohry. Through seven, UT led 3-2. despite being out hit 8-5 by the Bulldogs.
UT tried to plate an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, but even with a walk, a balk and an intentional BB, Lohry struck out swinging to end the threat. But the real story of the final three innings was Hunley. The mid-state product allowed just two hits in the seventh and eighth innings while giving up just two hits. With a flare for the dramatic, Hunley saved his best for last — striking out two of the game’s final three batters, all with a one-run lead and the game on the line the entire time. His final numbers: 1 W, 3.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 Ks.
Ensley, Moore and Tears were the only Vols to finish with RBIs, and Tears was the only UT batter with more than one hit.
Tennessee plays again tomorrow night, this time with ETSU coming to LNS for another 4:30 PM start.