Tennessee baseball stays perfect over the weekend in Houston, claim Astros Foundation College Classic title

The Vols are officially rolling

With pretty much an entirely new roster coming in to replace last year’s National Championship team, Tony Vitello is finding no problems early on this baseball season. Tennessee improved to 11-0 on the year this weekend, winning three more games without too much drama.

Tennessee beat Oklahoma State on Friday afternoon and Arizona on Sunday, picking up two quality non-conference wins. The Volunteers also beat the hometown team Rice on Saturday.

Gavin Kilen got things rolling for Tennessee on Friday, hitting home runs in his first two at bats of the game. A towering, second-deck blast was the highlight, as Tennessee made its presence felt very quickly in Houston.

Tennessee built a 5-0 lead on the 16th-ranked Cowboys before surrendering two runs late. Nate Snead would close the door though, picking up his first save of the season.

The Volunteers moved on to overpower a Rice team that was picked to finish last in the American. Tennessee would score seven runs in the first two innings, quickly disposing of the Owls. Kilen hit another two home runs on Saturday while going 4-5 from the plate.

Marcus Phillips went 4.2 innings on the mound, bouncing back from a shaky first inning. He would blank Rice from there, striking out eight batters on the day. Tennessee would go on to win 13-3.

Tennessee returned on Sunday to face No. 24 Arizona. It was a slower start for the Vols, who found themselves trailing by a run in the fifth. Andrew Fischer and Levi Clark went back to back with solo shots to give Tennessee its first lead, and they didn’t look back from there. Cannon Peebles and Gavin Kilen would extend that lead out to 5-1 later.

Brandon Arvidson picked up his first win of the season. Nate Snead handled 3.2 innings on Sunday, while Ryan Combs and Dylan Loy finished off the Wildcats.

Kilen led the way this weekend for Tennessee, smashing four home runs and hitting .600 in these three games. He scored seven runs and drove in another seven for the Volunteers.

Following Texas A&M’s two-loss weekend in Houston, Tennessee should be moving up even more across all polls. The Vols were already the No. 1 ranked team in the coaches poll, now others should follow. LSU is also in the mix after going 3-0 in the Frisco College Baseball Classic.

Up next for Tennessee will be two mid-week games. The Vols will host Radford on Tuesday and then host Xavier on Wednesday. Tennessee will move on from there to a three-game weekend series against St. Bonaventure.