Through No. 2 Tennessee's opening eight games, the Vols were without a key piece.
Maui Ahuna transferred to Tennessee during the offseason after a largely successful campaign at Kansas. Last year, he hit .396 at the plate while leaving the yard eight times and slugging for 48 RBI.
Due to this impressive season, he became one of the most sought-after transfers in the portal. This hype has landed him as the No. 22 overall prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft, as well.
However, due to violations in his recruitment, Ahuna did not receive eligibility from the NCAA. This forced him to miss the opening weeks of the season as he watched from afar.
Despite this, on Monday, it was announced that Ahuna had received clearance to play.
"It was in the weight room and he kind of took over from there," said coach Tony Vitello on the moment Ahuna received the news. "I believe there was a haka dance going on and all kinds of stuff... Probably one that goes in the memory bank with this team."
On Tuesday, he made his debut at shortstop during the Vols (7-2) 6-1 win over Charleston Southern (3-5).
In his debut, he finished 1-for-4 with a single in the sixth inning. He was also just shy of a home run in his first at-bat but it was flagged down on the warning track.
His lone knock moved his hit streak to 20 games — dating back to his time as a Jayhawk.
In the field, Ahuna was solid. He made no mistakes and made a solid play while moving across second base and delivering a strike to first.
Although the pregame spotlight was on Ahuna, it was Blake Burke that stole the show.
The first baseman went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run and five RBI. With the team scoring six runs, only Jared Dickey's solo shot provided an offensive push outside of Burke's effort.
While at the plate, Burke lifted a home run deep to left field in the sixth inning. The ball went 380 feet and came off the bat at 104 mph at a 28-degree launch angle. This was his fifth home run of the year.
With Burke's effort making the only true difference at the dish, Tennessee once again relied on its pitching staff to win the game.
Starting the game on the bump was Zander Sechrist. The left-handed pitcher threw 4.1 innings while giving up just three hits and no runs. He also struck out five batters.
In relief, Seth Halvorsen took the mound. He threw for 2.2 innings and gave up just one hit. However, the hit was a solo blast by Casey Asman to provide Charleston Southern with its only run of the match. Halvorsen also managed four strikeouts in his eight recorded outs.
"He's one of our better arms," said Vitello on Halvorsen. "As he comes along with getting his pitch count built back up and then just being out there and getting more comfortable out there with repetitions, he's capable of doing anything we need him to."
Following Halvorsen was Kirby Connell. He kept his hitless start to the season alive as he sat down the side in order during his only inning of work. He struck out one batter.
"He kind of excites the dugout and at the same time gives you that calming feeling," said Vitello on Connell. "That's a difficult combo to achieve but when you're a great kid and you're a hard worker and you've got some ability, you can do that."
Wrapping up the game was Aaron Combs. He sat down the last three batters in order with a pair of strikeouts to finalize the win.
Next, Tennessee will face Charleston Southern for the second game of the two-match series. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET.
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