Texas Baseball Overmatched at the Plate in Series-Opening Loss to Tennessee

Tegan Kuhns struck out 15 Longhorns as Texas managed just four hits in its first Friday loss with Dylan Volantis on the mound.

Texas pitcher Dylan Volantis throws to a Vanderbilt batter during the second inning of a NCAA baseball game at Hawkins Field | MARK ZALESKI / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Usually, when Dylan Volantis takes the mound for Texas baseball, the Longhorns can expect a win. Texas had not lost a game started by the sophomore left-hander, but Friday night in Knoxville looked nothing like the dominant stretch Texas had grown accustomed to.

For the first time in weeks, the Longhorns looked completely overmatched at the plate.

No. 4 Texas was shut down by Tennessee ace Tegan Kuhns, who delivered a career performance in a 5-1 Volunteers win at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Kuhns struck out 15 Longhorns across seven dominant innings, allowing just four hits while overpowering a Texas lineup that never found an answer.

Meanwhile, Volantis turned in his roughest outing of the season, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out just two batters and issuing two walks.

The loss dropped Texas to 32-10 overall.

Volantis settles in, but offense never responds

Texas infielder Ethan Mendoza is greeted in the dugout after scoring the first run in the game with Tennessee | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The night immediately started awkwardly for Texas.

Not only did Tennessee strike first in the opening inning on Trent Grindlinger’s RBI double, but the Longhorns also lost starting second baseman Ethan Mendoza after he exited following a diving defensive play.

In the second, Tennessee tagged Volantis for three more runs behind Manny Marin’s RBI double, a wild pitch and continued hard contact against a pitcher who had dominated SEC opponents over the past month.

It marked one of the rare shaky starts for Volantis, who entered Friday with a 1.87 ERA and had struck out 35 batters over his previous three starts.

To his credit, the sophomore left-hander eventually stabilized. After allowing six hits over the first two innings, Volantis settled into a rhythm and shut Tennessee down over his final three frames. It was a performance well below his recent dominance, but it was enough to keep Texas within reach. 

The problem was the offense never gave him much help, at all. 

Texas got a taste of its own medicine against Kuhns, who carved through the Longhorns in the same way Volantis has done to opposing lineups for weeks.

Texas looked completely helpless against the right-hander, managing just two hits while striking out 11 times through five innings. Even when Texas finally threatened in the seventh inning with two runners aboard, Kuhns stayed in the game after a mound visit and struck out Casey Borba for his 15th punchout of the night.

The Longhorns finished with 19 strikeouts overall.

Aiden Robbins provided the lone bright spot offensively, recording Texas’ first extra-base hit with a third-inning double before later launching a solo home run in the eighth inning — his 19th of the season. But at that point, the game was effectively out of reach. 

After Cody Howard entered in relief of Volantis, the Volunteers used a bunt, a wild pitch and a two-run single from Blake Grimmer to push the advantage to 5-0. That proved more than enough support for Tennessee’s pitching staff.

Brandon Arvidson closed the final two innings, and Texas never seriously threatened again.

The Longhorns will now try to even the series Saturday at 5 p.m. CT in Knoxville.

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