After hitting .571 as a Tennessee left fielder this past weekend during the three-game sweep of Nicholls, sophomore Blaine Brown showed what he could do on the mound Tuesday afternoon.
Albeit briefly.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound son of former Tennessee Titans running back Chris Brown started and struck out all three batters he faced during the 10-3 dumping of UNC Asheville before 5,685 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. One inning would be it, however, as the left-hander assumed the role of designated hitter the rest of the way and collected an RBI double down the right-field line in the sixth inning.
“I just want to get him to where he gets as many touches on the mound to where he gets his full routine in, so we’re doing a little balancing there,” Tennessee first-year coach Josh Elander said in a news conference after his No. 13 Vols improved to 4-0. “When do you take BP? How much BP do you take? How do you mix in the offense versus the pitching?
“He’s got some comfort up there, and I thought he looked really, really good today. We’ll continue to lengthen him out, but he’s such a special talent that you have to be kind of delicate in how you attack it with him.”
Tennessee has won its four games this season by the combined count of 37-6.
The Bulldogs took a 2-2 contest into the third inning, but the Vols quickly broke things open on a Stone Lawless three-run home run to left field. Henry Ford homered to left in the fourth inning to make it 6-2, and then Brown got his RBI double for a 7-2 advantage.
Ford, the former Baylor School standout who played the past two seasons at Virginia, is hitting .412 through four games, while Brown, a transfer from Rice, is hitting .474.
“Blaine is just so calm,” redshirt sophomore second baseman Tyler Myatt said after his 1-for-3 outing left him at .429 for the young season, “and he’s young. He’s still a sophomore and has so much room to improve, but he’s a great guy in the clubhouse, and that’s what I love about him the most.
“When it’s game time, he balls out, whether that’s on the mound or in the box. There is no in between with him.”
Freshman and fellow lefty Cam Appenzeller replaced Brown and struggled in the second inning before regrouping to post a four-inning performance that contained two hits, the two runs and four strikeouts. The 6-5, 190-pounder from Chatham, Illinois, retired the last 11 batters he faced.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” Appenzeller said. “I’m just throwing. It’s one batter at a time.”
The Vols return to action Friday afternoon at 4:30, when they host Kent State.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.