Hunter Ensley homered to left field and Andrew Fischer homered to center in consecutive at-bats during the seventh inning Sunday afternoon as Tennessee polished off a three-game sweep of South Carolina at Founders Park with a 7-2 drubbing.
The top-ranked Volunteers improved to 26-2 overall and to 8-1 in Southeastern Conference play, while South Carolina dropped to 17-12 and to 1-8 within the league. Tennessee has won 12 of the past 13 series meetings with the Gamecocks and has also swept multiple SEC opponents for five consecutive seasons.
“It’s great to cheer for that, but you can’t win the third game until you win the second,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said afterward. “It happens, but if you’re going to look at baseball as a game of percentages, it’s such a huge thing to be able to do that anywhere, but especially on the road.”
Ensley went 4-for-5 with three RBIs before the announced crowd of 8,012 and is now hitting .380 this season.
The Vols trailed 1-0 entering the fourth inning, when Dean Curley was hit by a pitch, Dalton Bargo doubled to left field and Ensley hit a two-run single to center. Ensley took second on a wild pitch and would score on a Manny Marin single to left that put Tennessee up 3-1.
“We didn’t have the fastest start, and we kind of had to weather the storm a little bit,” Vitello said. “We had a fan in the stands who did not think our guys were awake.”
Tennessee increased its advantage to 5-1 in the fifth on a Bargo single to right that scored Curley and on a Reese Chapman double to left-center that scored Bargo.
Tegan Kuhns got the start for the Vols and allowed six hits and one run in four innings before Brayden Krenzel worked the final five innings, yielding four hits and a run. The two freshman pitchers continue to thrive, with Kuhns currently possessing a 1.08 earned run average and Krenzel a 1.12 ERA.
“Tegan was just missing early with some pitches, and it wasn’t the same hot start he had against Alabama,” Vitello said, “so we got to see him in a different element where he was really challenged. In high school, that was when he was at his very best, but this is a different level.
“Krenzel was great, but Tegan really set the tone for the day.”
Tennessee will return to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday night, when the Vols host Tennessee Tech (19-10).
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.