Vols Outlast UC Irvine, 10-9, in TGC Finale

Saturday, February 25

Irvine, CA

5:00 PM

University of Tennessee

6-1

UC Irvine

3-4

UC Irvine

Tennessee

February 25, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 25, 2017

POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Head Coach Dave Serrano POSTGAME INTERVIEW: Left Fielder Justin Ammons Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Battling through a back-and-forth slugfest in Saturday's Tony Gwynn Classic finale vs. UC Irvine, an RBI-single by shorstop Reggie Southall drove in pinch-runner Jay Charleston to put Tennessee on top in a 10-9 final at Fowler Park.

Due to a pre-determined time limit in Saturday's game, the Volunteers were declared the winners in the eighth inning. Oregon and Tony Gwynn Classic co-host University of San Diego are set to play Saturday's night game to complete tournament competition.

With the win, Tennessee finished its 2017 Tony Gwynn Classic tournament appearance with a 3-0 record and ends its week-long trip in Southern California going 4-0.

For the first time in seven games, Tennessee's opponent took the early lead as the Anteaters used a three-run homer off the bat of Keston Hiura to move ahead, 4-0, in the first.

Tennessee responded with one run in their first turn at the plate to make it a 4-1 game. Freshman Justin Ammons doubled and was then followed up by a free pass issued to Jordan Rodgers. With Benito Santiago in the box, a wild pitch and throwing error by UCI brought Ammons home for the first UT run of the day.

UCI added a run in the second inning but Tennessee came back swinging. In the third, Ammons knocked his second double of the day with a gapper into left-center and scored on a double to right field by Rodgers. RBI-hits delivered by Dom Thornton and Reggie Southall helped the Vols take a one-run lead at 6-5 entering the fourth.

The Anteaters put two quick runs on the board in the top of the inning but Tennessee once again answered to retake a one-run lead, 8-7, via leadoff triple from Ammons and RBI-hits from Rodgers and designated hitter Pete Derkay.

The back-and-forth continued until the eighth inning, when Derkay punched his fourth base hit through the infield. Pinch-runner Jay Charleston made his way around to third and with two outs, Southall cracked an RBI-single back up the middle to score the game-winning run before time expired.

In his second start of the year, righty Will Neely struggled to find a rhythm against the Anteaters before Zach Linginfelter took the mound in the third, working 1.2 innings in relief.

Freshman Garrett Stallings then made his first relief appearance of the Tony Gwynn Classic and tossed 4.0 innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits with three strikeouts for his first career win with the Orange and White.

Tennessee Quick Hits

In its first-ever appearance at the Tony Gwynn Classic, Tennessee stands at 3-0 and in the running to be tournament champions, depending on the outcome of Oregon vs. University of San Diego.
The Volunteers move to a 4-3 all-time record against UC Irvine following Saturday's Tony Gwynn Classic finale.
Tennessee has now scored first against six of its seven opponents this season for a 6-1 record and has produced double-digit hits in five of its seven games.
Over seven games to begin 2017, Volunteer freshmen have accounted for 13 of UT's total 29 extra-base hits.
Freshman Justin Ammons now leads Tennessee with seven extra-base hits to start the season, including three doubles and a triple vs. UC Irvine.
With three doubles & one triple vs. UCI, freshman Justin Ammons tied a UT school record for most extra-base hits in a single game with four, last accomplished by Drew Steckenrider vs. Vanderbilt on May 4, 2012 (four doubles).
Three Tennessee freshmen recorded three-or-more hits on Saturday vs. UCI: Pete Derkay (4-for-4, RBI), Andre Lipcius (3-for-4, RBI) and Justin Ammons (4-for-4), who became the second Vol freshman to hit three doubles in a game this year (also, A. Lipcius vs. Memphis).
Pete Derkay recorded his first, four-hit game for Tennessee and became the fourth Volunteer to record four hits in a game this season.
Through UT's first seven games, 14 total newcomers have made their Tennessee debuts in 2017 (including 11 freshmen).
On Deck for the Vols: After the team's four-game stint in California (4-0), the Volunteers return to Knoxville this weekend for their first home series of the season vs. Norfolk State on March 3-5 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.