Alabama State baseball overwhelmed by Tennessee in opening at Knoxville Regional
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — While a sold-out Lindsey Nelson Stadium basked in the sunset and sang during the seventh-inning stretch, Dilan Espinal limped away from first base after trying to beat out a ground ball.
No moment better represented Alabama State baseball's opening game of the Knoxville Regional in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Hornets (34-24) struggled to produce any offense against Tennessee's pitching and barely troubled the No. 1 Vols (54-7), dropping Game 1 10-0.
"They're as good as advertised," coach Jose Vasquez said. "We got a chance to see what they've been doing all year.
"It was tough to get anything going offensively, but I'm proud of the way we competed."
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With ace Breon Pooler on the mound and a full-strength lineup, the Hornets would have needed just about everything to go well to pull off a shocking upset. Pooler was solid considering the opposition, but ASU's bullpen collapsed in the sixth, allowing five runs to put the game out of reach.
Bullpen overwhelmed by UT's offense
Pooler managed well against Tennessee's lineup, all things considered. Eight hits and three earned runs in 4⅔ innings against this UT team is respectable. So when Vasquez made the decision to yank Pooler in the fifth inning, it seemed a bit premature.
Taking his recent workload into account, his short leash was a precaution rather than a reaction to his performance, according to his coach.
"He threw close to 13 innings last week," Vazquez said. "Breon is the reason we won the SWAC championship. He pitched 4⅔ innings on (May 29).
"I would make that decision a thousand times if I needed to again."
Payton Harris closed out the fifth without any more damage, but the ensuing offensive explosion felt inevitable. In the sixth, he allowed a leadoff walk, an RBI single and a two-run bomb to Jordan Beck.
Harris slouched off the mound, his poor night quickly over. Osvaldo Mendez came in and was rocked immediately, giving up a home run on his first pitch to Drew Gilbert. It was a poor night for the bullpen, as any chance the Hornets had of mounting a comeback was too far gone after the sixth inning.
Top of the order silenced
Vasquez has relied on the top of his batting lineup for production this season, led by the reliable Corey King with his .367 batting average and team-high 14 homers.
The Hornets got next to nothing from their top five hitters. Kyler McIntosh's ninth-inning single was the only base hit from the spots 1-5. It's never a great sign when the bottom of the lineup is more productive.
Vazquez was quick to praise Tennessee starter Blade Tidwell, who pitched a career-high 7⅔ innings while striking out seven and allowing just three hits.
"If he's not a first-rounder, I don't know what it would take to be one," he said. "There are some guys in the big leagues that are not as good as what he was today."
Win or go home
Regrouping from the blowout will need to be quick as the Hornets now face elimination on Saturday against Georgia Tech. That game is scheduled to start at noon as both teams will look to keep their College World Series hopes alive.
"Our backs were against the wall in the conference tournament," ASU catcher Hunter May said. "We fought for 14 innings and pulled off the win, so I think anything can happen tomorrow."
Alberto Camargo is a sports intern with the Knoxville-News Sentinel. Contact him at acamargo@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @albaretoe.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama State baseball overwhelmed by Tennessee in NCAA regional
