KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 1/2 Tennessee tied the NCAA Division I record with three grand slams in a wild 22-9 midweek win over Radford on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Two of those three grand slams came in the Volunteers’ 11-run seventh inning, including a walk-off blast by pinch hitter Blake Grimmer to send the run-rule into effect. The two slams in a single inning also tied an NCAA record.
Reese Chapman hit the first of UT’s three bases-loaded jacks with a third inning shot to right center to erase a 4-2 deficit and put the Big Orange ahead 6-4. The Vols went on to score three more runs in the inning to take a 9-4 advantage.
The Highlanders (6-6) didn’t go away, however, scoring five unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at nine.
Tennessee (12-0) regained the lead on a Hunter Ensley RBI double in the bottom of the fifth, which proved to be the game-winning run. The Vols added another run on a Stone Lawless double in the sixth to increase their lead to two before their exploding for 11 runs to finish the game in the seventh.
Andrew Fischer led UT with five RBIs on the night thanks to a pair of homers, including the first grand slam in the seventh inning, which traveled 427 feet.
Every Tennessee position player that played in the game scored at least one run while seven players registered multi-RBI performances.
Big Innings from D. Loy
With the game in the balance and the Vols reeling after having given up five straight runs, sophomore lefty Dylan Loy was able to settle things down and quiet the Radford bats for the remained of the game.
Loy pitched the final 2.1 innings, retiring all seven batters he faced while racking up four strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the year.
Vols on Record Pace for Grand Slams
After setting an SEC record with 12 grand slams last season, Tennessee is well on its way to breaking the NCAA Division I single-season record this year. Through just 12 games, the Vols have already mashed seven grand slams.
Arizona State holds the NCAA record with 14 in 2003, doing so in 68 games.
Up Next
UT is back in action on Wednesday night when it takes on Xavier at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
