Tennessee Baseball vs. Oakland Score, Updates

Photo via Tennessee Athletics

SCORE: Tennessee 0, Oakland 0 | PREGAME

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No. 19 Tennessee baseball (9-3) is set to battle Oakland (1-10) Wednesday in a midweek contest at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

First pitch in Knoxville is at 4:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network +.

Wednesday’s contest serves as the second of two midweek matchups for Tennessee this week. The Vols impressively defeated ETSU 7-1 Tuesday.

ETSU is a very strong mid major team and Tennessee’s pitching staff dominated its hitters. If it wasn’t for Tennessee opener Blaine Brown throwing 11 consecutive balls in the first inning, ETSU wouldn’t have scored.

Taking into account the level of competition and Tennessee’s collective performance on the mound and at the plate, it was arguably the Vols’ best game of the season.

Prior to the ETSU midweek, Tennessee went 2-1 last week in Arlington, Texas, as part of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Seris.

The Vols lost Friday’s game to UCLA, 12-5, before beating Arizona State and Virginia Tech, 5-3 and 3-1. UT’s offense mostly struggled throughout the weekend, but strong pitching carried UT to a pair of much-needed victories over the Sun Devils and Hokies.

Relievers Cam Appenzeller, Brady Frederick, Mark Hindy and Brayden Krenzel all had good-to-great outings out of the bullpen. Evan Blanco turned in a solid start, Landon Mack worked through trouble beautifully in his start and Tegan Kuhns arguably pitched the best he has all season in a 10-strikeout performance despite giving up three homers.

Recaps from all three games at Globe Life Field, and a full weekend recap, are below.

GAME ONE RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Surrenders Five Home Runs in Loss Against UCLA
GAME TWO RECAP: Four-Run Inning and Strong Pitching Lead Tennessee Baseball to Victory Over Arizona State
GAME THREE RECAP: Tennessee Baseball’s Pitching Shines in Low-Scoring Win Over Virginia Tech
WEEKEND TAKEAWAYS: Five Takeaways From Tennessee Baseball’s Winning Weekend In The Lone Star State

Chris Newstrom was Tennessee’s highlight offensively, tallying four hits in the first two games. The sophomore followed up a strong weekend with a two-hit day. Levi Clark also looked much better at the plate, hitting back-to-back doubles in games two and three on the weekend, along with a 404-foot fly ball Sunday.

Vibes were low after Friday’s loss to UCLA. After cutting the deficit to one run against the Bruins with a four-run sixth inning, Tennessee’s bullpen collapsed to allow six seventh-inning runs, resulting in a seven-run loss.

Tennessee’s response, while the offense struggled the majority of Saturday and Sunday, was important to see. Now, the Vols have the opportunity to continue their momentum with five home games this week and began the week with a bang with Tuesday’s win.

Opponent Scout

2025 Record: 19-41 (10-20 Horizon)
2025 Postseason: N/A
2026 Horizon League Preseason Poll: 5th
Head Coach: Brian Nelson

Overall Record: 20-51 (2nd year)
Record at OU: Same

Preseason All-Conference Selections: No Team Released

Info courtesy UT Athletics

POLLS

Below is where Tennessee is ranked in various preseason polls.

D1 Baseball: 19 (up 1 spot)

D1 Baseball rankings will be referenced by RTI all season.

Baseball America: 19 (same
Perfect Game: 17 (down 4 spots)
USA Today Coaches Poll: 19 (same)
NCBWA: 20 (no update)

Prediction: Tennessee run-rules Oakland

Oakland is an easy midweek matchup. Vols handle business easily against a putrid opponent.

Injury/Availability Notes

Blake Grimmer and Garrett Wright are BACK as they make their starting lineup debuts Wednesday.
First appearance for Grimmer. Wright was a defensive sub last Tuesday in the 9th inning.

TRANSCRIPT: Everything Tennessee Baseball HC Josh Elander Said After ETSU Win

For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, click here.

For the latest RTI Diamond Pass podcast previewing the 2026 season, click HERE.

VIDEO: Josh Elander, Tennessee Baseball Talk After Win Over ETSU

Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.

TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:

2B Jay Abernathy (L)

3B Henry Ford (R)

LF Blaine Brown (L)

RF Reese Chapman (L)

1B Blake Grimmer (L)

CF Garrett Wright (R)

SS Chris Newstrom (R)

C Trent Grindlinger (R)

P/DH Taylor Tracey (L)

Lineup Notes:

Lots of changes.
Levi Clark day off.
Grindlinger at catcher (first catcher start of season)
Grimmer start at 1B (season debut)
Garrett Wright start at CF (starting lineup debut), Abernathy moves to second.
First SS start for Newstrom this season.
Tracey, a two-way player Tennessee really likes, gets a crack at the starting lineup while also starting on the mound.

OAKLAND STARTING NINE:

RF Aidan Schuck (R)

SS Kyle Revere (R)

1B Lucas Day (L)

LF Tony Konopiots (R)

2B Carter Hain (R)

CF Aidan Orr (L)

C Ben Clark (R)

DH Nick Mardis (R)

3B Boston Halloran (R)

Pitching Matchup:

Vols LHP Taylor Tracey (0-0, 2.70 ERA, 3 app., 0 starts, 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 0 XBH, .167 opp. batting avg., 1.20 WHIP)

vs.

Oakland LHP George Hansen (0-1, 30.86 ERA, 2.1 IP, 5 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 6 BB, 2 K, 5 XBH, 4.71 WHIP)

Pitching notes:

Tracey has been solid in his midweek appearances but struggled out of the bullpen against UCLA Friday.

Uniforms

Tennessee: Midweek pins

Oakland: TBD

*NOTES*

There IS a run-rule. If Tennessee or Oakland leads by 10 or more runs in M7 or later, the game is over.

1st Inning:

Score: Vols 0, Golden Grizzlies 0

2nd Inning: