COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 1/1 Tennessee completed its series sweep of South Carolina with a 7-2 win over the Gamecocks on Sunday afternoon at Founders Park in Columbia.
Despite a slow start, the Volunteers’ unrelenting offense got things going in the middle innings and never looked back, finishing with 12 hits on the day.
Hunter Ensley led the way with a four-hit day, recording three singles to go along with his fourth home run of the year while also driving in three runs. Dalton Bargo and Andrew Fischer also finished with multiple hits for the Orange and White.
USC starting pitcher Matthew Becker cruised through the opening three innings, setting down all nine of UT’s hitters in order before running into trouble the second time through the order.
The first four batters all reached base in the top of the fourth as the Big Orange went on to plate three runs on four hits in the inning. Ensley got the scoring started with a two-run single before freshman Manny Marin drove in Ensley with a two-out single later in the frame to put the Vols ahead 3-1.
Tennessee added two more runs in the fifth inning on RBI hits by Bargo and Reese Chapman to extend its lead to four.
Freshman righthander Tegan Kuhns rebounded well from a rocky start. The Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, native, allowed the first three batters of the game to reach base, but recovered well to retire the next three batters and held the Gamecocks to just one run in the frame.
Kuhns was relieved by fellow freshman Brayden Krezel in the top of the fifth after giving up six hits – all singles – and just the one run in four innings of work.
After Carolina scored in the bottom of the sixth to cut its deficit to three runs, the Vols responded immediately with back-to-back solo blasts from Ensley and Andrew Fischer in the seventh to make it a 7-2 game and cap the scoring for the afternoon.
Bargo Stays Scorching Hot in SEC Play
After another big weekend at the dish, Bargo continued his torrid start to SEC play. The junior utility man led the team with a .500 batting average and five runs scored while tying for the team lead with six hits for the series. Bargo is hitting at a team-high .464 clip in league play with a pair of homers and seven RBIs.
Krenzel Impresses Again
The freshman righty put together another impressive outing in relief, tossing a career-high five innings to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the year. Krenzel struck out four and allowed just one run on four hits.
Another SEC Sweep
UT completed its 18th sweep in SEC play under head coach Tony Vitello with Sunday’s victory. The Vols have now swept multiple conference series in each of the past five seasons.
Up Next
Tennessee will be home for four games next week, starting with an in-state midweek contest against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before hosting Texas A&M next weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
