KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A late rally by No. 23 Tennessee came up just short as the Volunteers dropped their first midweek game of the season in a 6-5 loss to East Tennessee State on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Orange and White scored a pair of runs in the eighth inning and had the tying run on third with one out in the ninth, but a wild double play compounded by base running errors ended the game and allowed the Buccaneers to come away with the road victory.
After struggling for the past couple of weeks, Evan Russell returned to his early-season form on Tuesday night, going 2-for-3 while hitting his third home run of the year. Russell was the only UT player to finish with multiple hits on the night.
After a three-run first inning, the Big Orange struggled to get the bats going over the next six frames and had 14 straight batters retired at one point.
A three-run homer by Russell in the bottom of the first gave the Vols an early lead. Andre Lipcius started a two-out rally with a double before Alerick Soularie walked to set the stage for Russell’s shot to left field.
UT’s lead was short-lived, however, as the Bucs exploded for five runs in the top of the second. Ethan Shelton put ETSU on top with one swing of the bat, hitting a grand slam to left field with one out. Ethan Cady added to the lead with an RBI double later in the inning.
ETSU extended its lead to three with another run in the sixth inning. After a double and an infield single, Bucs’ leadoff hitter Jake Lyle drove in David Beam with a sacrifice fly to make it 6-3.
Jay Charleston and Max Ferguson both drove in runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the deficit to one, but Soularie hit into a double play with the tying run on second to end the inning.
Trey Oglesby earned his first win of the season for ETSU after throwing 4.2 innings of relief with three strikeouts. Freshman Chase Silseth got the loss for Tennessee after allowing four runs in just a third of an inning pitched.
NOTABLE
RUSSELL BREAKS OUT OF SLUMP: Evan Russell was back to his usual self on Tuesday night, leading the Vols with a pair of hits, including a three-run homer in the first inning. Russell also drew a walk and reached base three times on the night.
PLEASANTS SOLID IN RELIEF: True freshman Elijah Pleasants was dominant in two innings of relief for the Vols. The Clarksville, Tenn., native did not give up a hit and allowed just one base runner to go along with two strikeouts in two innings of work.
UP NEXT: The Vols will head west to Nashville this weekend for a series against No. 4 Vanderbilt. First pitch for Friday’s series opener is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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