There is no sign of a championship hangover for Tennessee baseball.
After run-ruling Hofstra in the season-opener on Friday, the Vols managed an 18-1 win in seven innings on Saturday to claim the series.
Getting the ball to start for Tennessee (2-0) was Marcus Phillips. He would go four innings while allowing just one hit, walking two batters and striking out four. No runs were scored while he was on the mound.
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Causing the Pride (0-2) issues was the majority of the lineup. Despite three freshmen starting, the Vols racked up 11 hits on the game.
The finest outing came from Hunter Ensley. The senior went 2-for-2 at the plate with three runs, four RBI and two walks. His biggest swing was a two-out grand slam.
Also going yard was Blake Grimmer and Levi Clark.
WHAT HAPPENED
Getting the ball to start was Phillips. In his first weekend start of his career, he went had to work out of a small jam after a Gavin Kilen error let a runner get on base. In the bottom of the inning, Tennessee couldn't get any offense going.
Phillips once again couldn't rely on the defense behind him in the second. Another error let a runner get aboard but he got out of the jam again.
In the bottom of the second, the Vols got the bats going. Reese Chapman put a ball in play and reached on a fielder's choice to push across the first run of the game. Then, a wild pitch also scored Manny Marin from third.
In the third inning, Tennessee put up four more runs. The first was on another fielder's choice off the bat of Cannon Peebles before Chris Newstrom ripped a bases loaded double to score three more runs.
The fourth inning marked the last for Phillips as he finished the day without allowing a run. In the bottom of the frame, Tennessee used a Clark home run to take a 9-0 lead.
With Phillips out of the game in the fifth, the Vols put in Michael Sharman who allowed a solo shot to let Hofstra on the board for the first time this season.
This was quickly put in the past, though, with a big swing from Ensley in the bottom of the inning. The center fielder hit a two-out grand slam to make it a 13-1 game.
Tennessee went on to add five more runs in the sixth inning before slamming the door for the run-rule win.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will round out its series with Hofstra tomorrow morning. The Vols will host the Pride at 11 a.m. ET after the game was moved up from its original start time. It will air on SEC+.
Then, Tennessee will turn the page to UNC Asheville on Feb. 18. First pitch for the one-off mid-week game is set for 4:30 p.m. ET and will air on SECN+.
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