Tennessee baseball wins regional opener, advances to winner's bracket

Tennessee baseball capped off Day 1 of the Knoxville Regional with a win against Northern Kentucky. The Vols had to battle from behind from the start but didn't make UNK's early lead a problem with a 9-3 win on Friday night. 

It was a tough start for the Vols, with Chris Stamos getting the start. One pitch into the game and Northern Kentucky's Cleary Simps hit a solo home run to start the opening round of the Knoxville Regional and gave the Vols a quick 0-1 deficit. 

Stamos could only get one out before Tony Vitello pulled him for AJ Causey, and it was smooth sailing from there. Causey pitched six and two-thirds innings and gave up two runs while striking out nine, setting up the rest of the bullpen to cruise to victory in game one. 

Tennessee's bats also came to play, totaling six runs on seven hits. The Vols were able to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning after a Reese Chapman base hit and error committed by the Norse defense. 

A run walked in and scored off a sacrifice fly in the third, which gave the Vols a 3-1 lead and didn't look back. Tennessee doubled its total number of runs in the fourth and made it 6-1 thanks to a Billy Amick three-run home run. 

With the Vols lead secure, Vitello and the Vols asked veteran Kirby Connell to lead Tennessee to the finish line out of the bullpen. He pitched the final two innings, recording two strikeouts and allowing no runs or hits. 

While Connell didn't allow any runs or hits, Dylan Dreiling gave him some added insurance at the bottom of the eighth with a two-run home run to give the Vols a six-run lead heading into the ninth inning. 

Indiana defeated Southern Miss 10-4 in their first-round matchup, so Tennessee is set to face the Hoosiers on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET for a spot in the regional championship. Northern Kentucky and Southern Miss will face off at 12:00 PM ET in the elimination bracket. The winner will stay alive, while the loser will pack their bags and head home.