Tennessee Baseball Makes Valiant Comeback But Falls Short to ECU in Chapel Hill Regional

The Tennessee Volunteers made a huge comeback but would still lose the first game of the Chapel Hill Regional.

Tennessee Volunteers' Manny Marin (4) scoops a ground ball as Arkansas Razorbacks take on Tennessee Volunteers during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala. on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Arkansas Razorbacks defeated Tennessee Volunteers 8-4. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers played in the first game of the Chapel Hill Regional, as they had hopes of defeating a tough East Carolina baseball program. The ECU club turned to one of their better pitchers, as they had Ryan Towers on the mound, while the Vols turned the ball over to arguably their best ground ball pitcher, Evan Blanco.

This was Blanco's first outing since having a rough start against the Arkansas Razorbacks last week, and things went very well for him. He gave up only one run, but he finished the day with four strikeouts and kept the Vols within striking distance. The best part of his outing was that he pitched through seven complete innings, and 97 pitches, which is almost 15 pitches more than his average in the most important outing of his career thus far.

The Vols had a big moment when they scored off the bat of Blake Grimmer, who hit a no-doubter out to right field. This would give the Vols a lead early, but the Pirates later tied the game to knot it up at 1-1. The Pirates nearly scored in the game, but that was shut down by a great throw from right field by Reese Chapman. This was a play that could and should be on SportsCenter later tonight.

Both teams had issues leaving runners on base, and both teams made base running errors, including one by Chapman that resulted in a double play made at third base off a line drive snag by the second baseman.

The Vols had to face plenty of different arms, as the Pirates even played their ACE, Ethan Norby, in the seventh inning. This was when the Vols had the opportunity to take the lead with Henry Ford at third and only one out. Norby would strike Clark out and would then face Chapman. Chapman would strike out, and this game would feel like a dog fight entering the 8th inning. He would come out during the 8th inning, and he struck out two batters. The Vols couldn't get anything going.

In just one pitch during the ninth, Davin Whittaker goes yard and takes the lead in 2-1 fashion for the Pirates. This put all of the pressure on Tennessee, which would have to come back. Luckily for the Vols, with two outs, their superhero of the game, Henry Ford, hit a huge home run that was a no-doubter.

This forced the Vols and Pirates to enter extras.

The Vols and the Pirates were tied until the 13th inning when the Pirates scored their first run, but a huge swing by Grimmer advanced Wright to the plate. This helped the Vols tie it back up. The inning would end in a tie, which kept the game going.

In the 14th inning, the Pirates took the lead yet again. With Will Haas on the mound, Walker Barron came up to the plate and sent the ball well over the left field wall for what looked to be a no-doubter. Haas would struggle a bit in the inning. He would be pulled for Cam Appenzeller, but unfortunately for Tennessee, Appenzeller gave up a RBI single, which extended the lead for the ECU Pirates. Then Appenzeller gave up a two-run double before getting out of the inning.

Final Score

Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander returns to the dugout after taking out pitcher Taylor Tracey (29) in an NCAA college baseball game against and Texas on May 10, 2026, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This would be the eventual end to the Vols game one hopes, as they would fall short against ECU on the day 7-3.

For a full inning by inning breakdown click here.

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