Curley, Ensley, Bargo lead Vols to victory at Alabama

Tennessee Athletics photo / Tennessee's Dean Curley (1) and Andrew Fischer celebrate during Friday night's 10-7 win at Alabama. Tennessee Athletics photo / Tennessee's Dean Curley (1) and Andrew Fischer celebrate during Friday night's 10-7 win at Alabama.

By David Paschall March 21, 2025 2 min read

Tennessee used a three-run first inning and a four-run eighth inning to outlast Alabama 10-7 Friday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

The top-ranked Volunteers rebounded from Thursday night’s 6-5 loss to the No. 12 Crimson Tide and improved to 21-2 overall and 4-1 in Southeastern Conference play. Alabama fell to 22-2 and is also 4-1 within the league.

Saturday’s rubber match in Tuscaloosa is set for 2 p.m. Eastern, and it will be available on the SEC Network+ streaming option.

The Vols pounced Friday in the first inning, when Dean Curley’s leadoff single up the middle was followed by a Jay Abernathy walk, a Hunter Ensley RBI single to right field and an Andrew Fischer RBI single to left field. Ensley would score when Reese Chapman hit into a fielder’s choice to give the guests a 3-0 lead.

Tennessee made it 5-0 in the second inning on RBI singles to right by Abernathy and Ensley.

David Paschall

David Paschall has covered sports at the Chattanooga Times Free Press since 1999 and wrote for the Chattanooga Free Press in the nine years before that. David has mostly covered college athletics, with a focus on the University of Georgia from 2000 to 2019 and the University of Tennessee since 2020. He grew up in Chattanooga and is a graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received multiple writing awards and has served as a Heisman Trophy voter since 2003. He has also worked in radio in Chattanooga and has been on the SEC Network's "Classic Rewind" series since 2014. David and his wife, Kelly, have three children — Conner, Emily and Spencer.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.