Vols Set Program Single-Season Home Run Record, Down Alabama A&M, 14-1
Published 12:29 am Wednesday, May 4, 2022
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Photo Contributed by UT Athletics Tennessee outfielder Jordan Beck takes a hack at a pitch during Tuesday's game in Knoxville.
Photo Contributed by UT Athletics Tennessee pitcher Kirby Connell is set to deliver an offering toward the plate.
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KNOXVILLE– A barrage of offense and a solid all-around showing on the mound led No. 1/1 Tennessee past Alabama A&M, 14-1, on a record-setting night Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols (41-4) hit five home runs on the night, pushing their season total to 108. That surpasses the previous single-season program record of 107 that was set in 1998 (56 games).
Jordan Beck, Kyle Booker, Blake Burke, Ethan Payne and Logan Steenstra all went yard for UT in the win, giving the Big Orange their sixth game of five or more home runs this season.
Beck, Booker, Burke and Seth Stephenson all recorded multiple hits for Tennessee, which recorded its 24th double-digit hit game this season. Beck led the way with four RBIs for the Vols despite recording just two at-bats.
Freshman Gavin Brasosky was credited with the win, the first of his career, after retiring all four batters that he faced. The Vols used 10 pitchers in total on Tuesday, including weekend starter Chase Dollander—who was seeing his first action since exiting in the first inning against Alabama due to injury on April 16. Dollander looked solid in a very limited appearance, facing three batters and recording one strikeout.
Beck wasted no time getting Tennessee on the scoreboard, blasting a three-run home run to left field in the bottom of the first inning that drove in Jorel Ortega and Stephenson, and gave the Vols an early 3-0 lead.
After Beck drove in another run with an RBI single in the second inning, Tennessee strung together a four-run fourth inning and three-run fifth inning to put 11 runs of separation between itself and the Bulldogs.
The four-run fourth was highlighted by Booker’s two-run blast to left and an RBI single through the left side from Christian Moore, while a three-run shot to left field from Burke did Tennessee’s damage in the fifth inning.
Payne hit the record-tying 107th home run in the seventh with a two-run shot to right center—the first home run of his Tennessee career. Steenstra’s eighth-inning solo blast was the record-breaker, landing just over the left field wall to cap off UT’s scoring for the night.
UP NEXT:
Tennessee heads north for a weekend series with Kentucky, running from Thursday through Saturday. First pitch between the Vols and Wildcats on Thursday is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network, while Friday and Saturday’s games will air on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
