'Disappointing effort' by Tennessee baseball in NCAA Tournament loss

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina - A rain delay lasting more than three hours Friday night extended Tennessee's 14-year-long wait of experiencing a real postseason in baseball.

The second-seeded Vols (38-20) were eager and excited when they finally charged the diamond at Boshamer Field at 10 p.m., but that enthusiasm didn’t carry over into their play against third-seeded Liberty in the Chapel Hill Regional.

When the final out was recorded just before 1 a.m., the Vols were defeated, falling 6-1 to the Flames (43-19) in front of an announced crowd of 2,239 fans.

“Obviously a disappointing effort for us. You don’t ever want plays on the field that look like Little League plays,” said second-year UT coach Tony Vitello. “It’s disrespectful to our fans and our program and the tournament, but it’s also going to happen when you got young kids trying to compete with their hearts. They get a little emotional. So, we didn’t make a couple plays defensively.”

With a .981 mark, the Vols were 11th in the nation in fielding percentage entering Friday's game, but the three uncharacteristic errors they committed were especially detrimental.

When the Vols defeated Liberty 7-1 in Knoxville on Feb. 26, UT committed just one error, but more than made up for it on the offensive end with nine hits.

But from the start, UT starter Garrett Stallings wasn’t settled or in control. The junior ace is sixth in the SEC in strikeouts this season, but he couldn’t fan the first two Liberty batters he faced and it cost him. With a runner on base, Liberty’s Jonathan Embry powered Stallings’ 1-0 offering over the right field wall to give the Flames an early 2-0 lead.

“I thought the environment in our dugout was a little different than it is on a successful game day,” Vitello said. “It’s hard to put a finger on that. We got a lot of bodies in that dugout. Even the guys that don’t make an appearance have a chance to contribute.”

Bad luck continued for Stallings in the third inning. He walked the first batter, the second reached base on a fielder’s choice, the third notched a single and then Tyler Galazin blasted a double deep into left field, driving in a run. Stallings got out of the inning by getting the next two batters to pop-out.

Stallings was pulled in the sixth after Liberty’s Brandon Rohrer scored from second base on a throwing error. He struck out three batters in 5.1 innings of work, allowing 10 hits and three earned runs.

“Garrett did not have his best stuff, but in true Garrett Stallings fashion, he kind of warriored his way through the outing,” Vitello said. “Much credit to (Liberty). It was pretty evident they wanted a piece of him and they were well-prepared and they swung it, but if we play better defense behind him, I think it’s a different box score.”

Rohrer drove in two more runs for Liberty in the sixth, sending a 1-0 offering from Tennessee left-handed reliever Will Heflin into center field for a base-clearing single.

Tennessee’s bats were mostly silent. Through the first five innings, the Vols tallied just three hits and two walks, struggling against Liberty lefty sophomore Mason Meyer. 

Evan Russell produced Tennessee’s lone run in the seventh, when the sophomore muscled a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence for a solo homer, his sixth of the season.

“I felt like I can be one of the guys to get an inning started,” Russell said. “I was just trying to hit the ball up the middle and get on base and I ran into one.”

The Vols now head into the loser’s bracket and will play fourth-seeded UNC-Wilmington (32-20) on Saturday at 12:06 p.m. in an elimination game. The Seahawks – champions of the Colonial Athletic Association – lost to host and top-seeded North Carolina 7-6 earlier Friday on an error that allowed a runner to steal home in walk-off fashion.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Russell said. “I know it’s an early game, but I wasn’t going to sleep much anyways and I don’t think most our team was either after that performance. It’ll be good to get back on the field and get after it.”

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Chapel Hill Regional Schedule

Double elimination format

All times Eastern

Friday

Game 1: No. 1 seed North Carolina 7, No. 4 seed UNC Wilmington 6 

Game 2: No. 3 seed Liberty 6,  No. 2 seed Tennessee 1

Saturday

Game 3: UNC Wilmington vs. Tennessee, noon (ESPN3)

Game 4: North Carolina vs. Liberty, 4 p.m.

Sunday

Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, noon

Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs. Winner of Game 5, 6 p.m.

Monday

Game 7: 1 p.m. (if necessary)