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Tennessee baseball blanks UCSD, earns first win of season after dropping 2 straight
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Tennessee baseball, finally, is back in the win column.
After a pair of disappointing performances against Arizona and Grand Canyon – at least compared to preseason expectations – Tennessee finally found a win with a 7-0 blanking of UC San Diego Sunday.
Drew Beam was on the mound for Tennessee to start things off, finishing with a final line of 6 innings pitched, 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts and 60 strikes on 86 total pitches against 20 batters. He had perhaps the best weekend of Tony Vitello’s weekend starters.
For the first time this year, the Vols say HELLO WIN COLUMN!
Final Score: Tennessee 7, UC San Diego 0 from Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ!#GBO // #OTH // #VolsWin pic.twitter.com/hhJrHu6vwm
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) February 19, 2023
It’s important to note Tennessee was without Griffin Merritt and Maui Ahuna for the majority of this weekend. Merritt played for Tennessee Sunday, but was held out of the first 2 games of the season after being ejected and suspended from his final game at Cincinnati last season. That suspension carried over to the first 2 games of this season.
Prior to first pitch Friday, Tennessee revealed that Maui Ahuna, a prized transfer from Kansas, was not yet ruled eligible to play this season. The hope for the Vols is to have Ahuna back at shortstop soon.
Still, that hardly excuses the preseason No. 2 team from losing in such fashion. Pitching was about as expected, but baserunning and defensively, the Vols struggled. Tennessee also struggled at the plate against Grand Canyon and Arizona, putting up a total of just 4 runs across the 2 days.
The Vols are back in action Tuesday and Wednesday against Alabama A&M.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
