Tennessee’s baseball season is still alive as the Vols won a wild back-and-forth affair that saw Tennessee blow a lead in the ninth inning before eliminating Liberty with a 6-5 win.
Liberty challenged the Vols’ recent struggles against left handed pitching throwing freshman Joseph Adametz.
Tennessee found success early against Adametz getting five hits and three runs in the first two innings, including Pete Derkay’s first triple of the season.
“It was great. It was important for my confidence too,” head coach Tony Vitello said. “They (Coach Ehlander and Coach Kivett) put together a really good plan and I think changed their mindset a little bit and it showed up.”
Liberty didn’t back down from the early deficit fighting back and scoring a run off of Vols’ starters Sean Hunley in the bottom of the second.
Hunley’s day ended in the third inning as the Flames got runners on the corners with two-outs.
Vitello handed the ball off to hard throwing lefty Garrett Crochet and he escaped the inning with a strikeout.
Liberty tied things up in the fourth inning capitalizing on a defensive mistake by Tennessee. Tyler Galazin singled to lead off the inning and an error on Crochet gave the Flames a pair of baserunners.
Crochet got a groundout for out number one, but both runners advanced. Crpchet would get a strikeout for out-number two before Galazin singled to centerfield scoring both runs.
After the lead-off man reached for Tennessee in the fifth Liberty decided to go to its closer bringing in All-American Evan Brabrand.
Andre Lipcius answered the bell sending a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall as Tennessee reclaimed the lead.
“That was just two great players going at it,” Vitello said. “Andre is a really special player. I know at the SEC Tournament he was mad about not being named ‘All-SEC anything’ and I don’t think anyone that’s played against Andre doesn’t think he’s All-SEC… One of the best coaches in our league called him ‘the most underrated player in the SEC’.”
Liberty would cut the lead back to one in the sixth thanks to a Ben Highfill single before both teams settled with Braband and Tennessee closer Redmond Walsh on the mound.
Tennessee took its 5-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning before things unraveled for the Vols. Gray Betts singled to start the inning and Jonathan Embry got a bunt single giving Liberty a pair of baserunners.
Tennessee struggled to recover as Vols’ catcher Connor Pavolony tried to throw behind the runner at second, but the ball got away from Martinez allowing the runners to get to second and third.
Walsh would walk a batter and hit Mathieu to bring the tying run home and leave the bases loaded, still with no outs. Tennessee would need some magic to get out of the inning and that’s exactly what they got.
With the infield in Will Wagner lined out to first base for the innings first out bringing Cam Locklear to the plate.
Locklear hit a soft chopper back to Walsh who tossed it home for out number two before Pavolony whipped the ball to first to complete the 1-2-3 double play.
“If you want to be in that mess, or call it a foxhole if you want, I don’t know that Redmond Walsh could be beat by anyone in this regional as far as who you’d like to be out there,” Vitello said. “He showed it and he had some help behind him.”
Lipcius gave Tennessee a lead off baserunner in the top of the tenth inning, but it appeared it would go to waste as Brabrand retired the next two batter and got Martinez to ground one to shortstop. However, Locklear’s throw went past Mathieu giving Tennessee runners on the corners.
Jake Rucker would make Liberty pay tallying his third hit of the weekend with a go-ahead single to left.
The lead-off man would reach base for Liberty again in the tenth, but this time Walsh would lock things down with a bunt out and a pair of flyouts.
Tennessee will face elimination again tonight as they face North Carolina at 6 p.m. ET. Zach Linginfelter will get the start for Tennessee.
