There was no need to play nine innings Wednesday inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Really, there was no need to play four.
Freshman shortstop Dean Curley, junior second baseman Christian Moore and junior third baseman Billy Amick hit home runs in Tennessee's 11-run third inning as the No. 9 Volunteers turned a 1-0 lead into an eventual 16-0 run-rule drubbing of East Tennessee State University that was halted after the top of the seventh.
The Vols improved to 4-1 with their easiest victory of the young season, which came on the heels of Tuesday's 3-2 escape of visiting UNC Asheville.
"A little birdie told me that the team was a little more focused than they were yesterday," Tennessee coach Tony Vitello told reporters afterward. "You could sense that warming up. Our best asset today was UNC Asheville. They played so well against us last night that it woke our guys up a little bit."
The Vols took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Kavares Tears scored on a wild pitch, with Curley opening the floodgates in the third with a three-run homer to left field that made it 7-0. Moore's two-run homer to center extended Tennessee's advantage to 10-0, and Amick's two-run homer to left made it 12-0.
Colby Backus — a redshirt junior center fielder from Johnson City, the home of ETSU (3-1) — accounted for Tennessee's fourth home run with a three-run shot to center in the sixth inning to cap the scoring.
Freshman Matthew Dallas out of Briarcrest Christian in Memphis got the start and pitched three innings, tallying three strikeouts while allowing one walk and no hits. The Vols allowed just one hit overall.
"I think it started off with fastball command," Dallas said of his impressive outing. "Every time I feel like I have that command, I think all my pitches kind of go together, so the main thing is trying to establish the fastball pretty early."
The Vols will host Albany for a three-game series this weekend, with Friday afternoon's opener set for 4:30. Vitello said AJ Russell will start Friday and Drew Beam on Saturday.
Inge hire official
Tennessee's football program on Wednesday announced the hiring of William Inge as its new linebackers coach. Inge spent the 2020-21 seasons as Fresno State's defensive coordinator and the 2022-23 seasons as Washington's co-defensive coordinator, working under new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer at each locale.
"William is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable linebacker coaches in the country," Vols coach Josh Heupel said in a released statement. "He has a proven resumé of success and understands what it takes to compete for championships on the defensive side of the ball."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.