RECAP: BaseVols smash Ole Miss in 7-inning series opener, 15-3

Four Vols accounted for five more home runs

Christian Moore had his fourth career game with two home runs while Kavares Tears, Robin Villeneuve and Dean Curley also left the yard, and AJ Causey moved to 5-0 for the season with his 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K outing in the Vols 15-3 run-rule win against Ole Miss,

Causey gave up the two walks, a wild pitch, three extra-base hits and threw just 56 of his 94 pitches for strikes, so he wasn’t his sharpest, but it was still enough to get the W, especially considering the night the offense had and the weather being rainy and wet. He didn’t allow any runs until the game was well in hand and nearly over — but he started strong — mowing down the top of the Rebel order and getting a swinging K to end the first half inning:

Then in the second, after a walk, Cannon Peebles gunned a runner down trying to steal second.

The bats went quietly in the B1 but popped off for 10 runs in the next three frames.

Tears and Dreiling singled in the third, and with two outs, Reese Chapman singled to bring Tears home. Then Curley and Christian Moore hit back-to-back home runs, with Curley’s dinger clearing the bases and scoring three.

Curley’s home run went 391 feet and left the bat at 106 MPH, while Moore’s 389 feet and had a 109 MPH exit velo:

A Tears double and a full-count, Dylan Dreiling walk in the third inning set up Villeneuve for his 5th home run that screamed out of the park at 112 MPH into the party deck.

Causey struck out two of three in the top of the 4th, and then a Blake Burke double put a man on for a two-out absolute missile from Tears for his seventh home run. This one went 400-plus feet, had a 15-degree launch angle and left his bat at 112 MPH:

Ole Miss finally got on the board with a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the 5th, and Tennessee didn’t push any runs across in the bottom half of the inning,

Another Rebel run in the sixth brought Vitello out to sub in Kirby Connell for Causey — even though the run was unearned and caused by an error at third, Either way, it didn’t matter much, as the bats ended it in the bottom half of the inning with another five runs.

Moore hit his second HR to lead off the frame, which put him at 36 career home runs and two short of Burke as they both chase the program record 40 home-run mark.

Then the-straight walks led to two runners on base as Burke got caught trying to steal second following the initial free pass of the frame. With Amick and Tears on base, Dreiling singled to score Amick, and Villeneuve singled to score Tears. An error allowed both Dreiling and Villenneuve to reach scoring position, and Reese Chapman brought them both home with another single.

Connell got the first out of the seventh — the Rebels last chance to make a stand — but then Vitello brought in Chris Stamos who struck out the first batter he saw and allowed a single but got a grounder to short to end the game.

First pitch for game two is scheduled for Saturday at 6 PM EST.