Vols Roll Past Belmont with 9-2 Win

Tuesday, April 3

Knoxville

6:30 P.M. ET

University of Tennessee

18-12

Belmont

12-16

Belmont

Tennessee

Photo by: Summer Simmons/Tennessee Athletics

April 03, 2018 | Baseball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee got back to its winning ways with a convincing 9-2 victory over in-state foe Belmont on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Five Volunteers drove in runs while freshman pitcher Sean Hunley improved to 5-0 on the year after putting forth another solid performance on the mound.

The Big Orange scored in five of the eight innings that they came to bat and were led offensively by Jay Charleston and Evan Russell, who both had a pair of hits on the night.

Despite the dominant performance by UT, it was actually Belmont who jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after a solo home run by Devon Gardner in the top of the first inning.

However, the Vols took the lead with a pair of runs in the second inning and never looked back. Brandon Trammell doubled to left field with two outs to score Nico Mascia and Russell to put the Orange and White ahead 2-1, and UT added to its lead in the third on an RBI groundout by Mascia to make it 3-1.

The Vols struck for three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to up their lead to five. Pete Derkay and Russell both drove in runs while Charleston scored on a nice piece of base running to give UT a 6-1 lead heading into the sixth. The sophomore from Longwood, Fla., finished the game with two doubles, two runs scored and a stolen base.

Tennessee took advantage of a Bruins' error to plate a run in the sixth and Benito Santiago made it 9-2 with an opposite-field, two-run homer in the seventh to cap the scoring.

UT's bullpen held the Bruins scoreless and did not allow a single hit over the final 3.1 innings to close out the game. Redshirt freshman Redmond Walsh led the effort out of the pen, retiring all five batters he faced on just 19 pitches.

Gardner led the Bruins' attack, scoring both of the team's run while also picking up a pair of hits and an RBI. Starter Justin Fowlkes fell to 0-5 on the year after giving up two runs in two innings of work.

Notables
Midweek Offensive Production Continues
Tennessee continued its high-scoring ways in midweek games this season with nine more runs on Tuesday. The Vols have now scored five or more runs in eight of their nine midweek games and eight or more runs five times.

Hunley Improves to 5-0
Freshman right hander Sean Hunley earned his fifth win in his last six starts in Tuesday's win. The Mount Juliet, Tenn., native gave up two runs on four hits and struck out five in 5.2 innings of work. Hunley currently leads the team in wins and is the first UT freshman pitcher to win five games in a season since Carter Watson finished the year 5-3 in 2011.

Next Up
Tennessee continues its homestand as it welcomes in defending national champion and top-ranked Florida to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend. First pitch for game one is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday night.