BaseVols withstand late push from LSU, take opening game of the series 6-3

A solid performance from Causey out of the bullpen after two consecutive poor starts

Kirby Connell faced two bases-loaded situations in his 1.2 IP — including one in LSU’s final at bat — and navigated both allowing just two runs, while AJ Causey struck out seven in his performance out of the bullpen as Tennessee took the first game of the weekend matchup 6-3.

Since Causey struggled mightily in his last two Friday-night starts, Tony Vitello opted to throw Chris Stamos in an opener sort of role and let Causey come in after Stamos tossed 2.2 innings of 2H, 1R, 1BB, 3K ball.

After Stamos stymied the LSU bats in the T1, despite a one-out double from Tommy “Tanks,” White, the offense … jumped .., on Tiger starter Gage Jump with a lead-off single from Christian Moore. Blake Burke was safe on a fielder’s choice that got Moore out at second, but the position of the runners on the bases didn’t matter once Billy Amick announced his return with a nearly-400 foot bomb in the direction of the party deck in left:

Amick led the team in home runs before his injury, but even after he missed eight games, he’s got 11 long balls which is just two behind the team leaders, Moore and Dylan Dreiling, the latter of which hit his 13th of the season later on in this game. The Vols led 2-0 after the first frame.

Stamos struck out one in the second and sat the LSU hitters down in order, but Jump returned the favor with three outs against three batters. Tennessee’s grad-student lefty struck out two in the third, but in the midst of the strikeouts he gave up a double, a walk, and a wild pitch before Vitello went to Causey. AJ surrendered a run-scoring single to the first Tiger he faced and a walk to the next but ended the inning with his first strikeout of the game.

Tennessee answered with a run of its own in the B3 after two consecutive singles to Moore and Burke, then one out later Kavares Tears drew a walk to load the bases. Jump walked Dreiling next, forcing a runner in and giving Dreiling his team-leading 41st RBI so far this season. Dean Curley hit into an inning-ending double play, but the Vols extended their lead to 3-1 on 2H but stranded two runners, too.

Causey cruised in innings 4-7 in which he gave up 3H, 0R, 0BB with 5 Ks. Burke gave him some assistance in the sixth with a double play when he fielded a tough ball hit right at him and stepped on first for one out and then threw a strike to second to complete the inning-ending play.

The Vols put up three in the fifth, and again it started with the top of the lineup — Moore took a lead-off walk, and Burke followed with a single.

LSU’s defense committed two errors on two-straight plays, the first of which got Burke out at second on Amick’s fielder’s choice hit but allowed Amick to advance to second. Moore made it from second to home for a run in the sequence.

Amick advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on an error from LSU’s catcher.

Dreiling’s 13th home run of the year came next on a 2-0 pitch that came low and inside then got subsequently pulled over the fence in left.

A walk, a wild pitch and two Tiger errors propelled Tennessee’s three-run fifth in which the Vols put up with just two hits.

The Tennessee lineup went down in order in the sixth, but in the seventh, LSU gave up a lead-off walk to Moore, another walk to Billy Amick but Moore got caught trying to steal second and Kavares Tears struck out swinging to end the threat.

Causey pitched into the eighth but walked the lead-off man and then gave up a one-out double. Causey hit the next batter to load the bases, and Vitello brought in Kirby Connell. Connell got a strike out and a fly-ball out that kept Tennessee’s 6-1 intact.

Causey’s final line: 4.2 IP, 5H, 0 R, 2BB, 7K.

LSU loaded the bases and made a run at the Vols in the T9 with a one-out single, two-straight walks, one more single that scored a run and wild pitch that scored another run. But after a three-pitch strikeout earlier in the inning, Connell got another three-pitch K between the run-scoring single and the wild pitch and finished off the win with a ground-ball out.

UT looks to secure the series win in tomorrow’s game with the first pitch going out at 5:30 PM EST.