Vols earn first SEC win of the year in series opener vs. Texas A&M
To kick off SEC play, Tennessee took to the road to face Missouri.
During a miserable and cold weekend in Columbia featuring a Sunday doubleheader, the Vols dropped all three games of their opening conference series.
On Friday, Tennessee had a chance to right the ship, though. It hosted a ranked Texas A&M team in the first SEC home game of the year.
In the series opener, the Vols (17-6, 1-3 SEC) powered to a 10-4 win over the Aggies (15-7, 1-3).
Although the score was ultimately lopsided, it didn't begin this way.
In the top of the first inning, Chase Dollander ran into trouble.
Tennessee's ace allowed two runs after giving up just a single hit. Although a stolen base and passed ball in the inning weren't necessarily his fault, he did balk in a run in the frame. He threw 27 pitches in the first inning alone.
In the second inning, Dollander gave up another knock and run.
At this point, he didn't look fully in control. This type of beginning wasn't new for Dollander, though. He has struggled to open games this year before typically settling in.
In the third inning, Dollander finally became acclimated. He gave up one hit but didn't let a score cross the plate.
While pitching 3.2 additional innings, he refused to give up another hit. By the end of his time on the mound, Dollander finished with 6.2 innings pitched while surrendering three runs on three hits with eight strikeouts. This work came on 103 pitches.
"I feel like in that first inning I was maybe a little too amped up," said Dollander. "I was kind of getting a little quick on my frontside and things like that. Once I settled in and calmed down a bit, everything was working the way it needed to. I was executing pitches the way I needed to in order to get hitters out."
In relief, Seth Halvorsen came on and pitched the final 2.1 innings of the match. He finished with no allowed hits with just one run scored. However, the run was not earned due to a throwing error by Blake Burke. He also recorded a strikeout.
Although Dollander gave Texas A&M an early advantage, Tennessee instantly reclaimed it.
In the bottom of the first, the Vols sent all nine batters to the plate while scoring five runs.
Then, in the second, Tennessee tacked on two additional runs to strengthen its lead.
After two scoreless frames, the Vols placed on two more runs to put the game out of reach.
"It definitely boosts any pitcher's confidence when the hitters are hitting," said Dollander. "You go out there and hopefully don't give up anything but if you do, and the hitters come back and put up a five-spot like they did, it kind of gives you the confidence in order to execute the pitches you need to and throw strikes."
Although this attack resulted in nine runs through five innings, Tennessee never left the yard in the stretch. The typically, high-powered offense did its damage through a collection of singles, doubles and a triple, instead.
However, on the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning, Blake Burke sent a ball 444 feet over the scoreboard in right field. This ball snapped the slugger's slump at the plate and gave the Vols their 10th run of the game.
"It was freakish to see to be honest with you," said Tony Vitello on the home run. "... That's about as far as you can hit it. Actually, it takes two to tango, you have a guy that's got good zip behind the ball. He just ran into it perfectly. It looked like it had a jetpack on it."
Also leading the way at the plate were Maui Ahuna, Jared Dickey and Kavares Tears. The trio all recorded multiple hits in the match. As a group, they combined for five runs, four RBI, two doubles and a triple.
With the team totaling 10 total knocks on Friday, it tied the 10 hits the team recorded a weekend ago. This improvement is a great sign heading into the remaining pair of games in the series.
Next, Tennessee will attempt to take the weekend set over the Aggies on Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. The game will air on ESPN2.
On the mound for the Vols will be Chase Burns. The right-handed starter is 2-1 on the year with a 3.41 ERA.
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