Vols Drop Series Finale to UNCG, 3-2

Sunday, February 25

Knoxville

1 P.M. ET

University of Tennessee

4-3

UNC Greensboro

4-3

UNCG

Tennessee

February 25, 2018 | Baseball

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KNOXVLLE, Tenn. – Tennessee was unable to finish off the series sweep over UNC Greensboro on Sunday, dropping a close contest to the Spartans by a score of 3-2 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Two solo home runs by UNCG left fielder Dillon Stewart proved to be the difference as the Vols were unable to find the big hit they needed throughout the game. UT left nine runners on base and finished 0-for-10 on the afternoon with runners in scoring position.

Junior starter Will Neely put forth a strong performance on the mound for Tennessee (4-3), giving up just one run on three hits while striking out four in five innings of work.

Freshman Zach Daniels was the Vols' best hitter in the game, hitting a solo home run and finishing the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

The Spartans (4-3) struck first with a run in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 advantage. Austin Embler led off the game with a double to left field and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Moritz two batters later.

An Andre Lipcius sacrifice fly in the third tied the game at one. The Orange and White loaded the bases with only one out after singles by Daniels and Jay Charleston and a walk by Pete Derkay. Lipcius was robbed of a hit by a nice diving catch from Stewart in left field, but Daniels was still able to tag and score on the play.

Two solo home runs by Stewart in the sixth and the eighth gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Both homers came off freshman reliever Garrett Crochet, who was stuck with the loss after giving up a pair of runs in four innings pitched.

Daniels cut the Spartans' lead in half with a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, his team-leading third of the season, but no one else was able to reach base in the final frame as Andrew Wantz recorded his first save of the year for UNCG.

Notables
Strong Showing for Neely
UT starter Will Neely had a very good afternoon on the mound after a shaky first start last Sunday against Maryland. The junior right hander pitched five solid innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out four. Neely's control was much better against the Spartans as he issued just two walks and did not hit any batters after walking four and hitting four batters in his first start of the season. Neely threw 47 of his 66 pitches for strikes today.

Daniels Starting to Get Hot
Freshman outfielder Zach Daniels continued his recent streak of solid performances at the plate with two more hits and another home run on Sunday. After starting the season 0-for-11, the Georgia native is batting .357 with a team-leading three home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored over the past four games.

Big Hit Evades Vols
Tennessee had multiple chances throughout the game to tie or even take the lead, but the Vols were unable to find the big hit they needed on Sunday. The Big Orange left nine runners on base and were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Next Up
Tennessee caps off its nine-game homestand with a pair of midweek games next week. The Vols will host Middle Tennessee on Tuesday and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday. Both games are scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN).

Quotables
Head Coach Tony Vitello
On Will Neely's Performance:
"The game slowed down for him. He's a guy that's got experience for us and he will continue to log innings for us."

On giving up multiple home runs to the same player:
"It's about the pitches we are making. One of the at bats today was 10 pitches and the more a guy sees off you, the better he's going to hit you. The really strong players will make you pay if you make bad pitches."

On the importance of getting young players some experience before SEC play:
"It's very important. We'd like to be as far away from .500 as possible, but like it or not that's where we are right now. It doesn't give you a lot of wiggle room. There are several pitchers and position guys we'd like to get out there. We just need more wiggle room in the win-loss column to do that."

Junior Pitcher Will Neely
On having five games in the upcoming week:
"I think it will be good for us, we have a lot of guys that haven't thrown at all. We can get them in and see what they can do."

On what he has seen with the freshmen pitchers:
"I think Garrett (Crochet) can be one heck of a pitcher and he even could be this year. I think he definitely will be in the future. The rest of the freshmen will show us that too when they get their opportunity."