KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Oakland Golden Grizzlies (1-11, 0-0 HL) fell to the No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers (10-3, 0-0 SEC) with a 11-2 loss on Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Golden Grizzlies managed to score two across the plate, with solo home runs coming in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Volunteers' offense dominated, posting 11 runs on 12 hits and solid pitching from the mound.

Fifth-year and Brooks Wallace Award Watchlist member Kyle Revere contributed with his first NCAA career home run. Redshirt-sophomore Tony Konopiots also delivered with a home run at the plate. Redshirt-junior Stephen Ruhle provided effective relief, pitching two innings of work without allowing a hit and earning three K's at the plate.

Oakland faced a challenging matchup against Tennessee, falling behind early. In the first inning, the Volunteers capitalized on a fielding error and a two-RBI double to take a 3-0 lead. By the third inning, Tennessee extended its lead with three more runs, aided by a series of hits and aggressive base running. A two-run homer by Tennessee further increased its advantage, making it 8-0.

Oakland got on the board in the sixth inning when Revere hit a solo home run into left field, bringing about a run for the Black and Gold.

The Golden Grizzlies added another run in the seventh with Konopiots homering to left field. However, Tennessee responded with three unearned runs in the bottom half, making it 11-2.

Junior lefty George Hansen started for Oakland, pitching four innings and allowing eight runs on 10 hits, while collecting four strikeouts and a walk. Ruhle provided a solid relief appearance, pitching two scoreless innings without allowing a hit and striking out three. Freshman Will Paxson saw action on the mound for the first time in his career as he pitched an inning, allowing three runs, before sophomore Daniel Duley closed with an inning of work, surrendering a hit, but kept the Volunteers scoreless.

Oakland will stay on the road in SEC action with a three-game series in College Station as the Golden Grizzlies will face Texas A&M March 6-8. Games will be streamed on SEC Network+.


How to Follow Oakland Baseball: For complete information on Oakland Baseball, follow the team on X at @OaklandBSB and head coach Brian Nelson at @CoachNelly11. The team is also on Instagram.