University of Tennessee left fielder Vincent Jackson was no stranger to AT&T Field before the East-West Showdown weekend series against Memphis.
Jackson is friends with Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton and would watch him during Buxton’s two-month stint last year with the Chattanooga Lookouts. He capped his transition as an AT&T spectator-turned-performer Sunday afternoon with a two-run home run over the right-field seats as the Volunteers prevailed 5-2.
“I love it here, especially in the summer when the grass is green,” Jackson said. “There are a lot of big leaguers who have played here, so it was good to play on this field for a few games.”
A steady drizzle accompanied Sunday’s finale, but Tennessee (2-1) combated the conditions by racking up nine hits. Jackson and right fielder Chris Hall each went 2-for-4 and complemented Vols starting pitcher Zach Warren, who allowed two hits and one run in four innings.
Memphis (1-2) scored a run in the top of the first inning, but Tennessee responded with two runs in the second inning and Jackson’s homer in the third.
“From one to nine innings, our emotions were kept in check,” Vols coach Dave Serrano said. “We know what we set out to do. We came down here to sweep, but that was taken away from us yesterday, so all we could do today was come out and win the series.
“If we can win series week in and week out, I think we’ll be pretty happy with results at the end of the year.”
The Vols won 8-4 Friday and lost 13-8 Saturday. An announced crowd of 1,215 attended Sunday’s game, which paled in comparison to Friday’s crowd of 1,768 and Saturday’s 1,765. Yet the three-game set was deemed a success by Serrano and Lookouts president and general manager Rich Mozingo.
The East-West Showdown marked the first time February baseball has been held at AT&T Field.
“I’m glad we did it for the Vol fans in the Chattanooga area and the north Georgia area,” Serrano said. “Obviously baseball should be played on a green field, but I’m happy with what transpired this weekend and with how many people showed up.”
Said Mozingo: “You can see after this weekend that there is a great following for college baseball, especially Volunteer baseball, in this town. This is something we can do, and if it works out for Tennessee, we would love to pursue it in the future.”
The Volunteers play again Friday, when they travel to Phoenix for the Grand Canyon Classic. They open their Southeastern Conference schedule at home against Ole Miss on March 18.
“I liked our calmness and the resiliency,” Serrano said. “We talk about Sundays being attitude days, and I thought we showed up with a good attitude in some difficult situations.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.