No. 7/9 Tennessee secured its first weekend series win of the season in emphatic fashion with a 21-6 victory over Albany on Saturday afternoon in front of a program record crowd of 5,127 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first and managing just two hits through the first three innings, the Volunteers got the bats going in a big way with a nine-run fourth inning to take control.
UT totaled 18 of their 21 runs in the middle three innings of the game, adding four in the fifth and five in the sixth before tacking on another three in the eighth to wrap up the scoring.
The Big Orange (6-1) finished the afternoon with 15 hits, 10 of which went for extra bases, including four home runs.
Kavares Tears hit his third long ball of the year in the fifth inning and finished with a team-high four RBIs while
Dalton Bargo had his best game as a Vol with a team-leading three hits and three runs scored to go along with a two-run homer.
Billy Amick also had another strong day at the plate, recording a pair of hits, including a bases-clearing double in Tennessee's nine-run fourth inning.
Robin Villeneuve continued his hot start to the year, as well, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and a monster 448-foot two-run homer over the batter's eye.
Drew Beam got the start on the mound and earned his first win of the year after 5.2 solid innings. The junior right-hander allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four with no walks.
Aaron Combs and
Dylan Loy both pitched a scoreless inning of relief while freshman left-hander
Luke Payne made his UT debut, posting a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning.
Albany's top two hitters in the order combined for seven of the team's 12 hits as Ryan Ferremi went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs and Jared Toby went 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI and two doubles. Thomas McElwee and John Vitucci also had multi-hit efforts for the Great Danes (0-2).
UP NEXT: The Vols will look to complete the series sweep in Sunday's series finale, which is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
STAT OF THE GAME: Tennessee had 10 different players record at least one hit and had seven players finish with multiple RBIs on the day. Bargo tied a career high with three hits and finished a triple short of the cycle.