Tegan Kuhns strikes out 15, leads Tennessee to massive victory over No. 4 Texas
By David Wasson
Published:
The fourth-ranked Texas baseball team ran into a one-man wrecking machine Friday night: Tennessee pitcher Tegan Kuhns.
Kuhns struck out 15 Longhorns, including an emphatic punch-out in the top of the seventh, to secure a 5-1 victory in front of 6,842 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
Tennessee (33-17 overall, 12-13 SEC) won its third straight game and can capture the SEC series in Saturday’s Game 2 (6 pm ET, SEC Network+). Texas (36-11, 15-9) has not dropped a conference series since playing Texas A&M on April 10-11.
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Kuhns’ 15 strikeouts were a career best and also tied the SEC’s single-game high this season set by LSU’s Casan Evans against Oklahoma on March 19. The total is also the most by a Tennessee pitcher since June 4, 2005, when James Adkins notched 15 strikeouts against Winthrop in the NCAA Knoxville Regional in a 3-2 victory. Tennessee’s 19 total strikeouts are the most for the team this season and were only two away from the all-time program record.
Kuhns outdueled Texas ace and SEC Pitcher of the Year contender Dylan Volantis, who surrendered three earned runs on six hits – both tying for the second-highest totals he has allowed in a start this season – and handed the southpaw his first loss of the season.
Kuhns (4-4) capped his epic night by refusing being taken out by Tennessee coach Josh Elander in the seventh then promptly out Casey Borba – sending the Lindsey Nelson Stadium crowd into a frenzy.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
