KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 5/12 Tennessee started its Sunday afternoon on a high note with a walk-off win in extra innings over No. 5/10 Auburn, but dropped the series finale, 8-1, to cap the day at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Game 2 Recap: UT 5, Auburn 4 (11 Inn.)
The Vols evened up the series against the Tigers with a thrilling 5-4 victory in extra innings after restarting Saturday’s suspended game in the top of the 10th inning.
After neither team was able to score in the 10th, Tennessee loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 11th to set the stage for a walk-off pinch-hit single up the middle by freshman Chris Newstrom to win the game for the Big Orange.
UT forced extra innings with some late-inning heroics from Dalton Bargo, who hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at four.
The Vols finished the game with 17 total hits and had five players finish with multiple knocks, led by a four-hit, two-RBI performance from Hunter Ensley.
Liam Doyle earned the win after starting the 10th inning on Sunday and tossing two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts.
Game 3 Recap: Auburn 8, UT 1 (7 Inn.)
Auburn controlled the finale with a comfortable 8-1 victory to claim the series, as the pitching duo of Christian Chatterton and Cade Fisher held Tennessee to just one run on four hits while combining to strike out seven.
Cannon Peebles provided the only run for the Big Orange with a solo blast into the porches in the fifth inning, his 10th long ball of the year.
AJ Russell got the start on the mound and looked sharp in the opening two innings before running into trouble in the third after allowing three straight singles to start the frame. Nate Snead came in to relive Russell but was unable to get the Vols out of the jam as the Tigers capitalized on their bases-loaded opportunity with four runs to take a 4-0 lead.
Auburn added three more runs in the fifth and another in the seventh to account for the final margin of victory.
Ensley was the only UT player to finish with multiple hits, going 2-for-2 in the game.
Up Next
The Vols remain at home all next week, starting with a Tuesday matchup against Indiana State at 6 p.m. before hosting in-state rival Vanderbilt next weekend.
