KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee kept its perfect record in midweek games intact with an 8-1 victory over Presbyterian on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols (32-17) scored their first six runs via the long ball, blasting four homers through the first six innings to build a 6-1 lead before adding two more late runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Blake Grimmer, Trent Grindlinger, Levi Clark and Garrett Wright all went yard for the Big Orange in the win, increasing UT’s home run total to 91 for the year.
The Blue Hose (10-39) actually got on the board first with a solo home run from Matthew Rollison in the top of the first inning but were held scoreless over the final eight innings by Tennessee’s pitching staff.
UT grabbed its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning and never looked back. Grimmer launched a 406-foot solo shot over the bullpen in right field, and then two batters later, Grindlinger cleared the porches in left field with a solo blast of his own to give the Vols a 2-1 lead.
The Big Orange tacked on four more runs in the sixth via a pair of two-run homers from Clark and Wright to extend the lead to five.
The Vols added two more runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth to push the lead to seven runs after a Stone Lawless a sacrifice fly and a Jay Abernathy RBI single.
Tennessee’s bullpen was stellar in the win, posting a combined seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts while only allowing just one hit.
Four freshmen toed the rubber on Tuesday night as Ethan Baiotto, Chandler Day, Taylor Tracey and Will Haas all had flawless appearances. Baiotto earned his third win of the season after retiring all eight batters he faced in 2.2 shutout frames.
UP NEXT: Tennessee returns to action on Friday night as it opens its series with the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
