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Hunter Ensley’s electric catch, Liam Doyle’s outing spurs Tennessee to win over Vanderbilt
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Tennessee’s Hunter Ensley and Liam Doyle came up clutch during Friday’s series-opening win over Vanderbilt. Now, the Vols will look to finish off the rivalry series win across the final 2 games of the weekend.
On Friday, the game stayed close all the way until the final out, including Vanderbilt pulling the score to 3-2 in the top of the 9th. However, Nate Snead came out for the final 2 outs of the game, nailing down a save to secure the win for Tennessee.
The game-changing moment in the game came in the top of the 7th inning with 1 out and Vanderbilt with a runner on base. That’s when Colin Barczi hit a deep drive to straight center field that initially appeared like it might leave the park.
That’s when Ensley came flying in, leaping at the wall to grab the catch in an electric play for the outfielder. Not only was it a run-saving grab, it turned into an inning-ending double play when the Commodore base runner failed to re-touch 2nd base on his way back to first.
Ensley’s grab elicited intense reactions from Doyle himself and Ensley’s teammates:
Fittingly, that magnificent play came on Doyle’s 100th pitch of the night, which would be the final pitch for Tennessee’s ace. Doyle ended the game with 7 shutout innings and 12 strikeouts, scattering 3 hits without issuing a walk in one of his best starts of the year.
The rivalry series and the final home series of the season for Tennessee resume on Saturday with a 5 pm ET first pitch. A win by the Vols would give the team its first series win since mid-April, with the SEC Baseball Tournament approaching right around the corner.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
