Tennessee takes game one of weekend series against Albany, 8-5

Blake Burke leaves the park for his first HR of the season

Once again, The Vols did their damage in the third inning. UT scored five runs and had four of its seven total hits in the bottom of the third, and got some help from an Albany defense that committed two errors.

Tennessee had one hit each in the first and the second: a single from Christian Moore, who seems to have found his home batting in the three hole, and another knock by Moore as he doubled a 3-1 pitch into the gap in left field.

AJ Russell, who got the last Friday-night start and struck out 10 in the season opener as his first career outing as a starter, went three innings while surrendering 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB and K’ing four.

In he first, he got some assistance from his infield defense as Billy Amick fielded a grounder, tossed it to Moore for force at second and Moore made the throw to first to get the speedy Albany baserunner.

Russell struck out the first hitter in the second, then worked around two-straight, one-out singles by striking out the next batter and inducing a grounder to second to end the top-half of the frame.

Dean Curly was UT’s lone hit in the bottom of the second with a full-count, two-out single to center, but Reed Chapman flew out to left to let Albany off the hook without any runs scored.

Cal Stark kicked off the Vols’ third with a first-pitch, base hit to right and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Dylan Dreiling hit the first pitch he saw for a base knock up the middle, which scored Stark from second and increased his already third-ranked batting average on the team from .316 to .320 (with an overall 1-3 game).

After Cmo got the green light on a 3-0 pitch and flew out, Kavares Tears singled to right — another opposite-field hit — and moved Dreiling to third.

Billy Amick singled to short, which was enough to score Dreiling and moved Tears to third. Blake Burke took a four-pitch walk, and then Albany’s defense helped out the Vols’ half inning.

Curly reached first on a throwing error from short, with Burke advancing to third and then scoring on another throwing error from the firs baseman. Amick and Tears both scored on the defensive miscue.

UT stranded a runner but ended up with five runs on four hits, in part thanks to the two errors from Albany.

Tennessee added its two final runs in the seventh after Moore took a full-count pitch left center followed by a Tears’ single. Moore scored two pitches later on a wild pitch, and then Blake Burke left the yard for the first time this year.

Albany scored two in the sixth — a two-run homer off reliever Chris Stamos, added two more in the eighth thanks to two unearned runs that came eventually from a Moore error at shortstop.

It scored its final run in the top of the ninth to make it an 8-5 final with a base-scoring single off the arm of AJ Causey.

The Vols went with just three pitchers tonight, each throwing three innings. Stamos allowed his two runs on the one hit while walking two and striking out one, while Causey finished the contest by giving up 3 H, 3 R (one earned), and two Ks. 45 of his 55 pitches went for strikes — the best figure of the trio.

The middle of the lineup did most of the damage again, with Moore, Tears and Amick recording two hits, while Burke’s home run drove in a team-leading two runs.

UT faces off for game two tomorrow at 2 PM EST.