Just a day removed from a no-hitter, Tennessee baseball's pitching lifted it to another dominant win over St. Bonaventure.
This time, it was an 11-1 win in just seven innings due to the run rule.
Marcus Phillips got the ball to start and allowed a lead-off home run. That was all the scoring the Vols (15-0) would allow the Bonnies (7-6) to bring across the plate.
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Phillips' final line sat at 5.2 innings pitched, three allowed hits, one earned run and five strikeouts while not walking a single batter. He threw 85 pitches and was given the win.
Relieving Phillips was Nate Snead. The righty tossed 1.1 frames in just 10 pitches. He didn't strikeout any batters but earned four consecutive outs.
At the plate, Dean Curley hit a two-run shot. The biggest swing came off the bat of Manny Marin, though.
The freshman lifted one into the left field porches for a walk-off grand slam to enforce the run rule. This marked the eighth grand slam on the season for the Vols. The NCAA record for grand slams in a season is 14.
WHAT HAPPENED
After being no-hit on Friday, St. Bonaventure got on the board in a hurry on Saturday. The Bonnies smacked a lead-off home run to begin the game and take a 1-0 lead.
The Vols got Hunter Ensley on base with two outs via error in the first but couldn't bring him home. This left Tennessee at a deficit for the first time this weekend.
After a 1-2-3 inning of work for Phillips, the Vols nabbed the lead. With two outs, Dalton Bargo ripped a single to score a pair of runners. Marin used his speed and a well-timed jump to beat a good throw home and to make it a 2-1 game.
In the following frame, Andrew Fischer stayed hot. This time it wasn't a home run, but the Vols' first baseman did find the outfield grass for a double that scored Ensley to extend the lead.
In the top of the fifth, St. Bonaventure got its second hit of the weekend. However, the runner was stranded on third after Phillips got out of the sticky situation himself.
In the bottom of the inning, Tennessee got some insurance. Ensley and Fischer both flew out but pushed across runs with sac-flies.
The sixth saw the exit of Phillips. With one on and two down, Snead entered. He worked out of the inning quickly, facing just one batter.
Curley joined the RBI party in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs and one on, he went opposite field to send a ball into the Vols' bullpen for a two-run shot. This made it a 7-1 game.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tennessee loaded the bases with no outs. Marin would tee off into the left-field porches to walk-off with a grand slam.
UP NEXT
Tennessee and St. Bonaventure will play Game 3 on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air on SEC Network+.
Like Game 2, Sunday's bout will enforce the 10-run run-rule through seven innings.
Then, the Vols host West Georgia on Tuesday before kicking off SEC play by hosting Florida over the weekend.
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