Regional Recap: Vols’ offense goes boom, Tennessee fends off a scrappy Indiana squad, 12-6

Though the Vols used five pitchers and collectively threw nearly 200 pitches, the offense homered four times, including a grand slam from Billy Amick, and UT beat Indiana 12-6.

Tennessee’s offense was patient, persistent and down-right oppressive early in the game, as it started by drawing 7 walks and scoring eight runs off Indiana starter Tanner Foley in just 2.1 innings. Hunter Ensley drew a walk to lead off the second, and one out later, Dean Curley hit his 10th home run of the year.

After another out, Cal Stark got hit by a pitch and Christian Moore took an inside pitch from Foley and belted it over the fence in right-center for the Vols’ second two-run shot of the inning.

Foley surrendered a hit, two more walks and two wild pitches after the home run, but UT left the bases loaded though it took a 4-0 lead.

In the third, it was more of the same from the Tennessee bats and from the Hoosier staff. Kavares Tears drew a lead-off walk, Dean Curley singled and two more walks forced a run across home. With the bases loaded and Foley at 91 pitches through 2.1 IP, Indiana went to reliever Ryan Kraft. Kraft struck out Blake Burke but got taken to Denny’s by Billy Amick in the next at bat when UT’s third baseman left the yard for the third time in three games on a first-pitch grand slam.

That made for 12 bases-loaded HRs so far this year, which is an SEC record for a single season and tied for second in NCAA history.

Kraft gave up two more singles and a walk, but a Curley strikeout ended the inning with the bases full, again. Four hits, five more runs and Tennessee led 9-0 after 3.5 innings.

Drew Beam was sparkling through the first two innings, as he threw first-pitch strikes to five of the first six batters he saw, didn’t allow a baserunner and K’d two while he retired the side in order in each frame. But in the third, Indiana hit a one-out double, then drew a walk before Hoosier lead-off man Devin Taylor belted a ball over the left-field fence for a three-run shot.

Cal Stark hit his seventh home run of the year with one out in the T4, and Kraft threw a four-pitch walk to Moore. Burke and Amick couldn’t bring the runner home, but UT still led 10-3 through the top of the frame.

The Hoosiers answered again, with Beam hitting the lead-off man and surrendering a run-scoring double to the next batter. QB1 collected two more Ks, but sandwiched another HBP in between. Still working with a six-run lead, Vitello opted to pull Beam in favor of Andrew Behnke. Obviously one would like to have seen Beam go further in the game, but he’d been hit pretty hard after those two early innings and the two HBPs didn’t help matters.

Behnke threw a four-pitch walk to the first man he faced to load the bases, but after a timely mound visit from Stark, he induced a pop-fly out to end the inning and escape possible calamity.

UT added two more runs in the top of the fifth after a walk and a single set the table for a bases-clearing single from Tears.

Behnke gave up two singles but didn’t allow a run in the B5, and Tennessee loaded the bases with a HBP and two walks in the T6 but left the half inning with three men on for the third time in the game. This marked the first time since the first frame that the Vols didn’t plate a run.

The offense ended up going the sixth, seventh and eighth inning without adding to its lead but the Vols’ sophomore lefty did his part with 3.1 IP and no runs allowed.

Marcus Phillips got the ball in the B8, but the Hoosiers jumped on him for a lead-off double. Phillips got the next batter down 0-2, but tossed four-straight balls and allowed the runner to reach third on a passed ball. Phillips got a ground-ball out but Indiana brought a run home in the process, and Vitello gave Phillips the hook to bring in Dylan Loy. The freshman threw just nine pitches, gave up two hits and a run before he was yanked and Aaron Combs was brought in.

Combs got out of the inning, and the Hoosiers cut the deficit to 12-6, but the Vols needed three pitchers just to get through the eighth, which wasn’t ideal. Combs finished off the game — throwing 1.2 innings of scoreless ball with one of his four Ks being the final out of the game.

Southern Miss and Indiana will play tomorrow at noon, and Tennessee faces the winner at 6 PM.