KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Another dominant performance from the Tennessee pitching staff carried the Vols to a 2-0 shutout win and a series victory over Appalachian State on Saturday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Sophomore lefty Garrett Stallings set a new career high with nine strikeouts. The Ocean Springs, Miss., native entered the game in the sixth inning and retired all 12 batters he faced in the game to earn his first save of the year.
UT starter Zach Linginfelter was lights out as well, tossing five scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out five to earn the win.
Sophomore outfielder Evan Russell led Tennessee at the plate for the second straight day, driving in both of the Vols’ runs.
After being held to just a single hit in the series opener on Friday, the Mountaineers didn’t fare much better on Saturday, posting just two hits on the afternoon. The duo of Linginfelter and Crochet held App State without a hit for the final seven innings of the game.
Freshman Tyler Tuthill got the starting nod for the Mountaineers and performed well in his first collegiate game despite picking up the loss. The left hander gave up just two hits and one run while striking out five batters in four innings of work.
MOWING ‘EM DOWN: Garrett Stallings set a new career high with nine strikeouts in just four innings of work, surpassing his previous high of eight that he set at Cincinnati on March 9 last season. The Big Orange finished with 14 total strikeouts for the game.
NO RUNS FOR YOU: With today’s victory, the Vols recorded consecutive shutout wins for the first time since Feb. 17, 2006 when UT did not allow a run in a doubleheader sweep of Morehead State. It also marked the first time since Tennessee opened the season with two straight shutout victories since Feb. 13-14, 2004, also against Morehead State. The Vols’ pitching staff has allowed just three combined hits so far in the series.
UP NEXT: The Vols will look to complete the series sweep of the Mountaineers tomorrow at 1 p.m. Get your tickets at AllVols.com!
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-UT Athletics
