KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The fourth-ranked University of Texas baseball team came up short at Tennessee, falling to the Volunteers, 5-1, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday night.
Tegan Kuhns set the tone for Tennessee (33-17, 12-13 SEC), striking out a career-high 15 over seven scoreless innings. Kuhns (4-4) limited the Longhorns (36-11, 15-9 SEC) to four hits and one walk across his 113-pitch effort.
The Volunteers backed their ace in the early going, mounting three runs across the first two frames.
Trent Grindlinger kickstarted the scoring, smacking a two-out RBI double to push Tennessee ahead, 1-0, in the first.
After the Volunteers drew a leadoff free pass in the second, Manny Marin ripped a double down the left field line to pad the advantage. Marin would come around to score on a wild pitch later in the frame.
Tennessee tacked on two more tallies in the seventh, which proved to be more than enough for Kuhns and the Volunteers’ bullpen.
In the defeat, Aiden Robbins launched his team-best 19th home run, matching Brooks Kieschnick (1993), Kyle Russell (2008) and Murphy Stehly (2002) for the fifth-most by a Longhorn in a season. Robbins reached safely three times, notching a walk and a double.
Texas starter Dylan Volantis (7-1) was tagged with the loss. Volantis allowed three runs over five innings.
The Longhorns will look to even the series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. ET at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.