Courtest / UT Athletics
Game Recap: Baseball | February 21, 2024
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Coming off a slow night offensively in Tuesday’s win over UNC Asheville, No. 7/9 Tennessee had the bats working at full capacity in Wednesday’s 16-0 run-rule drubbing of ETSU at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols (3-1) finished with 13 base hits and blasted four home runs, three of which came in an 11-run third inning that busted open a 1-0 game.
Freshman infielder Dean Curley got the starting nod at shortstop and burst onto the scene in his UT debut, going 2-for-3 with a walk, three runs scored and three RBIs, all of which came on a three-run homer in that aforementioned 11-run third inning. The California native also added a triple in the sixth inning.
Two other Vols finished with multiple hits on the night as Hunter Ensley led the way with a 3-for-3 day, scoring two runs and driving in a pair of runs. Christian Moore also scored two runs and had two RBIs on two hits from the leadoff spot.
Making his UT debut, redshirt junior Colby Backus provided an exclamation point on the win with a three-run blast in the bottom of the sixth inning, his first-career homer at the Division I level.
While the bats were on fire, the pitching was just as dominant, holding the Buccaneers (3-1) to just one hit on the day, a bloop single with two outs by Nick Iannantone in the sixth inning to break up the no-hit bid.
Tennessee used five different pitchers to stifle the ETSU lineup, three of which were true freshmen in Matthew Dallas, Dylan Loy and Brayden Sharp. Dallas got the start and tossed three no-hit frames with just one walk and three strikeouts before handing the ball off to Loy, who struck out two in one scoreless inning to record his first-career win.
Marcus Phillips, Sharp and JJ Garcia pitched the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, respectively, to close out the victory.
UP NEXT: The Vols host UAlbany for a three-game set starting on Friday at 4:30 p.m. All three games will be streamed on the SEC Network+ and ESPN app and feature a live audio stream on UTSports.com and the UT Athletics app.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Vols exploded for 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning, their most in an inning since plating 15 in the bottom of the fifth during a 23-1 victory over Alabama A&M almost exactly one year ago to the day (Feb. 22, 2023). UT recorded 10 of its 13 total hits in the inning, five of which went for extra bases, and tallied 10 of the 11 runs with two outs.
