Tennessee Baseball: Two takeaways from Vols’ 4-3 loss vs. GCU

Tennessee baseball is having an underwhelming start to the 2023 season. After a bunch of hype surrounding the Vols, they sadly have started the season 0-2.

Tennessee baseball lost to Grand Canyon University by a tight score of 4-3. The Tennessee Volunteers started 31-1 in 2022, but this year they already have more losses in just two games. However, there is nothing to be afraid of, and this young talented squad will figure things out and get back on their feet stronger than ever.

I would certainly rather the Vols take a few more losses if it means having a better finish than they had last year. There are going to be hiccups all along the road, and Tennessee baseball is simply just experiencing some early-season growing pains.

Let’s dive into how the game went against GCU, and ways they can improve in the future with the two main takeaways that I found important.

Errors and inexperience

The Vols are a very young team, and it showed in the late innings when they made two errors that let Grand Canyon ultimately win the game. Grand Canyon showed out in Saturday’s game and had a huge fanbase there to support them.

Grand Canyon had almost 5 thousand rowdy fans show out, and it rattled the Vols’ inexperienced baseball team. After a couple more games, they should be able to settle in and figure out how to play up to their elite potential.

After Tennessee baseball fell behind against GCU by a score of 1-0 in the first inning, Tennessee scored three straight runs and took a 3-1 lead into the sixth inning. Junior college transfer Cal Stark hit his first home run in a Tennessee uniform as well, which was a delight to see for all Tennessee baseball fans.

Chase Burns 

Chase Burns got the start for the Vols and played an extremely well game. He pitched for 4.2 innings and struck out 6 batters. He was a force on the mound and was a big part of why the game was kept close late into the game.