The Tennessee Volunteers kept the good times rolling against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday night in the teams’ series opener in Nashville. The Vols rallied from a 4-3 deficit by putting up a 5 spot in the 8th inning for the game’s final runs. The loss with the Commodores’ eighth in a row against Tennessee going back to 2021.
A.J. Causey picked up the win for Tennessee, pitching 6.1 innings allowing 3 ER on 5 hits with 7 strikeouts. Chris Stamos started the game and allowed just a solo home run by Vanderbilt’s Jacob Humphrey in the second inning while striking out 5 over 2.2 innings.
Tennessee struck first in the top of the first. Christian Moore sent a hanging slider over the right field wall on the game’s first pitch for a 1-0 lead. Dylan Dreiling lined a double to drive in Kavares Tears for a 2-0 margin.
Leading 3-1 in the sixth, the game turned in favor of Vanderbilt on a very controversial ball. Causey appeared to pain the outside corner with a fastball, such that every player started walking off the mound. The problem is the home plate umpire called it a ball. He called a full count pitch in a similar location a ball on a full count, and Vandy had life. They’d go on to score 3 two-out runs to take a 4-3 lead instead of the inning being over.
Tennessee would make it all academic two innings later. Tears gave the Vols a 5-4 lead with an impressive opposite field home run over the high left field wall on a breaking ball. After Hunter Ensley singled home another run, Cannon Peebles put the exclamation point on the night with a pinch hit two-run home run to right center for the game’s final runs.
The Commodores couldn’t answer, going 1-2-3 in the eighth and managing just a single in the bottom of the ninth before Causey got Jonathan Vastine to fly out in the left field corner.
The Vols and Dores continue their series on Saturday with first pitch set just after 3:00 pm ET.