KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 21/22 Tennessee found itself back in the win column with a 10-3 victory over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Big Orange raced out to a 5-0 lead with a five-run second inning that featured RBI hits from Levi Clark, Trent Grindlinger and Garrett Wright.
UT added another run in the fourth and two apiece in the sixth and seventh innings to reach the 10-run mark for the sixth time this season.
Grindlinger had a career day at the plate after, finishing 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBIs. The freshman from California was a late addition to the starting lineup and made the most of his opportunity after Henry Ford had to miss Tuesday’s contest with an illness.
Manny Marin also had another strong offensive performance, posting his sixth straight multi-hit effort after going 2-for-4 with a homer and a pair of RBIs.
Clark and Blaine Brown joined Grindlinger and Marin as Vols who drove in multiple runs for the game while Jay Abernathy had an impressive day, as well, with two hits and two runs scored.
Taylor Tracey added to his string of solid outings on the mound, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings to start the game. The freshman lefty allowed just one hit and struck out four batters in his third start of the year.
Right-handed reliever Brady Frederick picked up his team-leading fourth victory of the season with 1.1 shutout frames, retiring all four batters he faced while striking out a pair.
The Vols used nine different pitchers in Tuesday’s win, five of which did not allow a hit or an earned run.
UP NEXT: Tennessee opens its home conference slate and will look to earn its first SEC series win this weekend when it hosts Missouri for a three-game set starting on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
