Tennessee’s baseball team wrapped up its fall practice undefeated after a 15-2 rout of Georgia Tech at Erlanger Park on Sunday, Nov. 8. The Vols dominated a crowd of nearly 7,500, delivering a performance that put the reigning ACC champions firmly on notice ahead of the regular season starting in mid-February.
Sophomore Cam Appenzeller made his first and only exhibition appearance of the fall, returning from appendix surgery to throw two scoreless innings. Despite calling his outing “definitely wasn’t very good,” Appenzeller struck out three, walked two, and hit a batter, managing to keep Georgia Tech off the scoreboard. Coach Josh Elander expressed confidence in the young pitcher, saying, “With him, I’ve got the most faith of maybe anybody on the staff.” Appenzeller has increased his velocity and added a cutter and a new changeup to his arsenal, though he admitted he struggled to locate the changeup consistently.
The pitching staff as a whole shut down Georgia Tech’s lineup, allowing only two hits across nine innings. Five pitchers, sophomore Jackson Estes and freshmen Cade Allen, Gary Morse, Shawn Sullivan, and Michael Teasley, worked scoreless frames. Will Haas and Brady Frederick combined for a clean sixth inning after Haas’s velocity dipped, prompting a precautionary removal. Elander said the prognosis on Haas is positive and expects no lasting issues.
The Vols struck out 12 batters and allowed eight walks. Elander said the bullpen showed resilience, noting, “The thing I liked the most is there was a little bend, but nobody broke. Maybe a walk, a base hit here and there . . . but they made good adjustments and when it starts to bleed, they put an end to it.” The depth shown by Tennessee’s young pitchers could ease the pressure on last year’s bullpen, which struggled for dependable options.
Shortstop Chris Ramirez was a standout both offensively and defensively. The two-time WAC Defensive Player of the Year, who transferred from Cal Baptist, went 2-for-3 with an RBI and made several impressive plays in the field. His most eye-catching moment came in the fifth inning when he hauled in a pop-up to shallow center field with an over-the-shoulder catch. Ramirez downplayed the feat, saying, “I don’t really know how I caught it. It just kind of happened.”
Offensively, Tennessee unleashed a barrage of hits, totaling 16 with three home runs. Andrew Duncan, a transfer from Wright State and the Vols’ expected starting center fielder, hit a towering home run in the fifth inning that cleared the berm in left field and landed on the concourse. Duncan had struggled earlier in the fall but finished strong with this display.
Two other newcomers joined the home run tally in the ninth inning. Mercer transfer Braydon Kersey sent a pitch over the left-field wall, and freshman Colt Springall followed with a blast to right-center. The power surge was a bright note for Tennessee as they close out fall practice with confidence.
The Vols’ fall slate ended without a loss in three exhibitions, setting a promising tone as they prepare for the 2027 season under coach Josh Elander.
According to Yahoo Sports.
