KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 6 Tennessee stayed perfect on the season with a 4-1 victory over ETSU in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,391 on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols’ pitching staff was exceptional once again, allowing just one run on five hits, to hold the Buccaneers dangerous lineup in check.
Zander Sechrist made his second consecutive midweek start and was impressive yet again, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out six in 4.2 innings of work. Camden Sewell came on in relief of Sechrist in the fifth and got UT out of the jam, striking out Ashton King to strand the tying run on third.
The Cleveland, Tennessee, native picked up his second win of the year after tossing 3.1 shutout innings and setting a career high with seven strikeouts out of the pen.
Veteran lefty Redmond Walsh slammed the door to earn his first save of the year, retiring the side in order in the top of the ninth.
Buccaneers’ starter Landon Smiddy did well to hold the Vols’ potent lineup in check for the first three innings before running into some trouble in the fourth.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week Trey Lipscomb broke the 0-0 tie with his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot over the right-field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning.
ETSU (5-2) responded with a run of their own to cut the lead to one in the top of the fifth and looked poised to tie things up at two in the sixth, but Jordan Beck cut down the tying run at the plate to end the frame with a bullet from right field.
Tennessee pushed its lead back to two in the bottom of the sixth on a bases-loaded walk by Jared Dickey before adding one more insurance run in the seventh on a two-out double down the line by Drew Gilbert to make it 4-1.
Despite his solid outing, Smiddy was stuck with the loss for ETSU, falling to 0-2 on the year, after giving up two runs on three hits in four innings.
UP NEXT: The Vols hit the road for the first time this season for the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Tennessee will battle with top-ranked Texas on Friday night before taking on Baylor on Saturday and Oklahoma on Sunday.
All three games will be televised regionally by AT&T SportsNet SW and streamed nationally on Astros.com, the Astros Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts, and the MLB app. Tickets for the games can be purchased by clicking HERE.
NOTABLE
WALSH MOVES CLOSER TO SAVES RECORD: Graduate senior Redmond Walsh moved closer to Tennessee’s career saves record on Tuesday night, earning his 17th career save. The Louisville, Tennessee, native is one save away from tying Sean Watson (18) for second in program history and six away from tying Todd Helton (23) for the all-time lead.
SUPER SEWELL: Camden Sewell continued his impressive start to the year with another great outing out of the bullpen. Sewell improved to 2-0 on the year and set a new career high with seven strikeouts in just 3.1 innings pitched. The senior right hander has not allowed a run in 8.1 innings this season and has 11 strikeouts while walking just one batter.
-UT Athletics
