SCORE: Tennessee 8, Wake Forest 5 | T7
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No. 14 Tennessee baseball (45-17, 16-14 SEC) is set to battle Wake Forest (39-21, 16-14 ACC) Monday in game seven of the Knoxville Regional and game two of the Knoxville Regional Final.
First pitch in Lindsey Nelson Stadium will be at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Mike Monaco (PxP) and Kyle Peterson (Analyst) are calling the game.
For a full preview of the game including a prediction, click HERE. The winner of Monday night’s game will advance to face Arkansas in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
Tennessee enters the game coming off a 7-6 loss to Wake Forest in game six of the regional on Sunday night. The Demon Deacons walked it off with a four-pitch RBI walk in the bottom of the ninth to win it.
Wake jumped out to a 6-2 lead after a two-run homer in the fourth. Brandon Arvidson would go on to shove in an extended relief outing while Andrew Fischer and Levi Clark tied the game with a pair of two-run homers.
However, Tennessee’s offense struggled in the final frames and Wake was able to get the winning run across in the bottom of the ninth.
Wake Forest was the home team in game six because it had been the away team more prior to the game. Tony Vitello expressed frustration with the NCAA’s home/away rule following the game.
FRUSTRATION: Tony Vitello Expresses Frustration With NCAA Home/Away Rule
REACTION: Instant Reaction: Tennessee Baseball Drops Game Six of Knoxville Regional to Force Winner-Take-All Game Seven
Tennessee’s loss to Wake Forest marked the Vols’ first loss in a regional at home in the Tony Vitello era. It also snapped a 14-game regional winning streak. Monday night will be the first game seven of a regional in the Vitello era.
Tennessee is 2-1 so far in the Knoxville Regional. Wake Forest is 3-1. The Demon Deacons lost their first game against Cincinnati before reeling off three straight facing elimination against Miami (OH), Cincinnati and Tennessee.
Prior to the Wake Forest loss, the Vols coasted to a 9-2 win over Miami (OH) and a 10-6 win over Cincinnati. Read recaps of all three of Tennessee’s games so far in the regional below.
MIAMI (OH) RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Coasts Past Miami (Ohio) For NCAA Tournament Opening Win
CINCINNATI RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Knocks Off Cincinnati To Advance To Knoxville Regional Final
WAKE FOREST GAME 1 RECAP: Wake Forest Walks Off Tennessee Baseball To Force Game Seven In Knoxville Regional
On paper, Tennessee is in good position for Monday night’s game. The Vols have many fresh arms ready to go in Tegan Kuhns, Tanner Franklin, Brayden Krenzel, Dylan Loy, Austin Breedlove and Andrew Behnke behind starter AJ Russell. If needed, Nate Snead and potentially even Liam Doyle could throw.
While Wake Forest will certainly throw the kitchen sink at Tennessee with a trip to the Supers on the line, the Vols are still the more talented team, have played one less game in the regional and are playing at home.
PITCHING AVAILABILITY: Breaking Down The Pitching Availability For Tennessee, Wake Forest Ahead Of Game Seven
If Tennessee plays determined, clean baseball, the Vols should win. But UT has struggled to do that consistently this season.
Additionally, when you look at the last two weeks as a whole, Tennessee is playing much better baseball than it did in April and early May. The offense has turned a corner late in the season. The biggest question for the Vols in the Regional Final is how the available pitchers will fare.
Prediction: Tennessee advances to the Super Regional
Opponent Scout
- Finished eighth in the ACC regular season standings, second round exit in ACC Tournament
- No. 30 in RPI
- Swept Miami, beat North Carolina and Louisville in series. Dropped series against Florida State and Clemson.
Strengths
Wake Forest has a really good offense and is one of the nation’s most patient. The Demon Deacons worked 363 walks, the fourth best rate in the entire country. Led by the high walk rate, Wake Forest enters the weekend ranked sixth nationally with a .431 on-base percentage.
They can hit for power too, ranking No. 13 nationally with a .532 slugging percentage. With five players who have hit 10-plus home runs this season, Wake Forest ranks 11th nationally in home runs.
Wake Forest has a good bullpen, too, and only one of those will likely be unavailable against Tennessee in Josh Gunther. But expect Wake to throw the kitchen sink at Tennessee with an all-hands-on-deck approach.
Weaknesses
The Demon Deacons aren’t overly aggressive on the base paths, stealing 70 bases and not ranking in the top 100 nationally.
While Wake has good arms, the pitching staff isn’t dominant. Its 4.76 team-ERA ranks 49th nationally while its 1.41 WHIP ranks 50th. The Demon Deacons’ pitching staff wasn’t good in their first two games of the Regional but was great, all things considered, in two games against Cincinnati and Tennessee on Sunday.
Injury/Availability Notes
- Tanner Wiggins and Alberto Osuna will not play for the remainder of the season. Osuna has been ineligible all season long and Wiggins is recovering from a mouth injury after getting hit by a foul ball in the Kentucky series.
TRANSCRIPT: Everything Tony Vitello Said After Tennessee Baseball Fell To Wake Forest
For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, including a feature on AJ Russell, click here.
For the latest RTI Diamond Pass podcast previewing the Knoxville Regional, click HERE.
VIDEO: Tony Vitello, Brandon Arvidson, Andrew Fischer React to Game Six Loss to Wake Forest
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
SS Gavin Kilen (L)
1B Andrew Fischer (L)
CF Hunter Ensley (R)
LF Dalton Bargo (L)
2B Dean Curley (R)
RF Reese Chapman (L)
DH Levi Clark (R)
C Cannon Peebles (S)
3B Manny Marin (R)
Lineup Notes:
- Same lineup as it has been the last eight games for Tennessee.
WAKE FOREST STARTING NINE:
RF Matt Scanell (L)
SS Marek Houston (R)
3B Kade Lewis (L)
1B Jack Winnay (R)
DH Dalton Wentz (S)
LF Luke Costello (R)
2B Austin Hawke (R)
C Matt Conte (R)
CF Javar Williams (L)
Pitching Matchup:
Vols Jr. RHP AJ Russell (2-1, 2.95 ERA, 10 app., 5 starts, 21.1 IP, 19 H, 13 R, 7 ER, 9 BB, 31 K, 7 XBH, .226 opp. batting avg., 1.31 WHIP)
vs.
Demon Deacons RHP G-Sr. Griffin Green (2-1, 2.55 ERA, 25 app., 0 starts, 35.1 IP, 20 H, 15 R, 10 ER, 19 BB, 38 K, 5 XBH, .167 opp. batting avg., 1.10 WHIP)
Pitching Notes:
- Russell starts after throwing 53 pitches Saturday, a bit if a surprise.
- Expect Russell’s outing to be limited. Probably not more than 50 pitches.
- Lots of guys behind Russell, including Tegan Kuhns, Brayden Krenzel and Tanner Franklin who haven’t thrown. Dylan Loy is basically fresh.
- Liam Doyle could also potentially throw. He’s been in Vitello’s ear about wanting to pitch today.
- Brandon Arvidson and Marcus Phillips are likely the only pitchers who absolutely will not pitch today.
- Wake has Joe Arriola and Zach Johnston as fully available behind Green.
- Luke Schmolke, Haiden Laffew, Rhys Bowie, Blake Mornginstar, Chris Levonas and Duncan Marsten are probably available but a bit limited. Most of those guys have thrown twice this weekend already or in ace Morningstar’s case 100+ pitches.
- Green has been a top bullpen arm all year for Wake. He threw 19 pitches on Friday.
- Has some walk issues but doesn’t give up hits. Only five extra-base hits and the .167 avg. stand out on his season stats.
Uniforms
Tennessee: Orange shirts, white pants
Wake Forest: Grey pinstripes with black and gold caps
*NOTES*
- There is NO run-rule in the NCAA Tournament.
- Tennessee is the HOME team today because it has been the home team less than Wake Forest so far this weekend.
1st Inning:
T1
-Matt Scannell strikes out swinging.
-Marek Houston flies out to CF.
- Fastball sitting 96-97 for AJ Russell.
-Kade Lewis doubles to left field.
- Bargo tried to make a diving catch in shallow left-center. Hit his glove but he couldn’t come up with it.
-Jack Winnay pops up to 1B.
END OF TOP HALF
B1
-Gavin Kilen lines out to CF.
- Rocket on the first pitch of the at-bat.
-Andrew Fischer works a walk.
-Hunter Ensley grounds into a 4-6-3 double play.
- 10th double play Ensley has grounded into this season.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Demon Deacons 0
2nd Inning:
T2
-Dalton Wentz strikes out swinging.
-Luke Costello slaps a single to left-center.
-Austin Hawke strikes out swinging.
-Matt Conte smacks a two-run homer into the Tennessee bullpen.
*Pitching change: Fr. RHP Brayden Krenzel (2-0, 4.25 ERA) on to pitch for Russell*
-Javar Williams grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
B2
-Dalton Bargo out at first 1B to P.
-Dean Curley grounds out to SS.
-Reese Chapman grounds out to 2B.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 0, Demon Deacons 2
3rd Inning:
T3
-Matt Scannell grounds out to SS.
-Marek Houston strikes out swinging.
-Kade Lewis works a walk.
-Jack Winnay grounds out to 2B.
- Great play by Andrew Fischer. Dean’s throw was too high but Fischer made a jumping catch then tagged the bag when he came back down.
END OF TOP HALF
B3
-Levi Clark HBP.
- Hit him near the shoulder blade. High and inside.
-Cannon Peebles works a walk.
-Manny Marin reaches on a bunt single to 3B.
- Perfect bunt loads the bases.
- Bases loaded with no outs for Gavin Kilen.
*Pitching change: Jr. LHP Zach Johnston (2-1, 7.04 ERA) on to pitch for Green*
-Gavin Kilen grounds into a 6-3 double play. Clark scores on the double play. Peebles to third.
-Andrew Fischer strikes out swinging.
- Tough swing for strike three. It was ball four at Fischer’s eye line.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 1, Demon Deacons 2
4th Inning:
T4
-Dalton Wentz strikes out looking.
-Luke Costello grounds out to SS.
-Austin Hawke strikes out swinging.
- Great inning from the freshman. 11-pitch inning.
END OF TOP HALF
B4
-Hunter Ensley works a leadoff walk.
-Dalton Bargo strikes out looking on three pitches.
-Dean Curley works a walk. Ensley to second.
Runners advance on a wild pitch.
-Reese Chapman connects for an RBI swinging bunt single to 2B. Ensley scores. Curley to third.
- Check swing results in an RBI single past the pitcher.
*Pitching change: Fr. RHP Duncan Marsten (2-0, 6.52 ERA) on to pitch for Johnston*
Chapman advances to second on a wild pitch. Curley scores on a wild pitch.
-Levi Clark HBP.
- Second hit by pitch for Clark. Both in the high shoulder.
- Spiked his bat afterward. Catcher took exception and the umpire ensured they were separated.
-Cannon Peebles strikes out swinging.
-Manny Marin smacks a three-run homer to right-center.
- Marin’s 3rd HR of the season.
- First HR since March 8 vs. St. Bonaventure.
- 374 feet, 99 mph.
-Gavin Kilen drives a single to right field.
-Andrew Fischer hammers a two-run homer to right field.
- 24th HR of the season for Fischer.
- Fischer was going crazy rounding the bases with emotion. LNS is the loudest it’s been all season.
- 346 feet, 90 mph.
-Hunter Ensley strikes out swinging.
- Went around on a check swing for strike three.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 8, Demon Deacons 2
5th Inning:
T5
-Matt Conte flies out to CF.
-Javar Williams works a walk.
Williams steals second.
- Tennessee challenged the ruling and the call was confirmed.
-Matt Scannell cranks a two-run homer to left-center.
*Pitching change: So. LHP Dylan Loy (4-0, 3.82 ERA) on to pitch for Krenzel*
-Marek Houston grounds out to 3B.
-Kade Lewis strikes out swinging, out at first C to 1B.
END OF TOP HALF
B5
*Pitching change: Jr. LHP Joe Ariola (0-0, 5.16 ERA) on to pitch for Marsten*
-Dalton Bargo grounds out to 3B on a bunt.
-Dean Curley flies out to RF.
-Reese Chapman strikes out looking.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 8, Demon Deacons 4
6th Inning:
T6
-Jack Winnay strikes out looking.
-Dalton Wentz doubles to left field.
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Tanner Franklin (1-2, 5.25 ERA) on to pitch for Loy*
-Luke Costello strikes out swinging on three pitches.
Wentz steals third.
-Austin Hawke sends an RBI single up the middle. Wentz scores.
-Matt Conte strikes out looking.
END OF TOP HALF
B6
-Levi Clark strikes out swinging.
-Cannon Peebles strikes out swinging.
-Manny Marin works a walk.
-Gavin Kilen grounds out to 2B.
- Line drive through the right side but hit into the shift. Nice play by the second baseman on a rocket off Kilen’s bat.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 8, Demon Deacons 5
7th Inning:
T7
-Javar Williams is walked on four pitches.
-Matt Scannell pops up to SS.
-Marek Houston strikes out swinging.
B7
Score: Vols 8, Demon Deacons 5
8th Inning:
T8
B8
Score: Vols , Demon Deacons
9th Inning:
T9
B9
Score: Vols , Demon Deacons
FINAL: Tennessee Vols __, Wake Forest Demon Deacons __
