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Tennessee baseball’s comeback falls short in Super Regional Game 2

By Colton Pickard

Tennessee's Dean Curley (23) can't field the ball during game two of the NCAA baseball tournament Knoxville Super Regional between Tennessee and Evansville held at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
Tennessee's Dean Curley (23) can't field the ball during game two of the NCAA baseball tournament Knoxville Super Regional between Tennessee and Evansville held at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday, June 8, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA
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Tennessee baseball couldn’t pull off the ninth-inning comeback after the pitching staff gave up seven combined runs in the fourth and fifth innings. The Vols lost to Evansville 10-8 in the second game of the weekend series. 

The Vols were the designated away team in Game 2 of the Knoxville Super Regional, and they wasted no time showing off their power in the morning. Blake Burke, Dylan Dreiling, and Hunter Ensley started the game hot and gave the Vols an immediate 3-0 off three solo home runs. 

Drew Beam got the start on the mound and was rolling through the first three innings. He gave up three runs in the fourth, which tied the game at three a piece. Beam took the mound in the fifth but continued to struggle and was pulled after recording two outs. Kirby Connell came in, faced one batter, gave up a run, and was pulled for Nate Snead. 

Snead got the Vols to the sixth but gave up three more runs to give the Aces a 10-5 lead. Andrew Behnke and JJ Garcia finished the game for the Vols and were able to settle down Evansville at the plate. 

Tennessee’s collapse on the mound was a team effort, with virtually every inning after the third being a struggle against Evansville’s hot hitters. Both pitching staffs have been exhausted after two games in the series, and each team will now have to rely on their bats. 

If the Vols want to secure their spot in the College World Series on Sunday, they must find a new approach to the plate. They scored eight runs on eight hits but struggled at the plate for most of the game. Beyond the first two innings and three runs in the ninth, Tennessee only scored one run in the middle six innings, while Evansville was putting up runs in the middle innings. 

Hunter Ensley was the only Vol to record multiple hits on Saturday. No one else got at least two hits, which doesn't help when the opposing pitchers are walking batters and giving Vols hitters opportunities to drive in runs. 

The Aces can swing the bat almost as well as Tennessee when they get hot, which was evident on Saturday. The Vols will have to bounce back and win the series on Sunday when Tennessee and Evansville play at 6:00 PM ET on ESPNU. 

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