Special runs through the NCAA Baseball Tournament require special, and sometimes unexpected, performances. For Tennessee on Friday night, it was junior right-hander AJ Causey going 6.2 innings after Chris Stamos last just 16 pitches as the starter in the 9-3 win over Northern Kentucky.
Saturday night against Indiana it was sophomore left Andrew Behnke going 3.1 innings in relief of Drew Beam and getting the decision in the 12-6 win over the Hoosiers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
“We went with our gut and the biggest part of the game and the biggest factor in the game was how well Behnke threw the ball,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said after the game, “which was outstanding for us. And that’s the nature of a tournament.
“It’s not going to be conventional, it’s not going to be pretty, but what you’re looking to do is put yourself in a better position for whatever the next day is. And obviously the day for us tomorrow is Sunday. We’ll see what happens between two great programs tomorrow before us.”
Vols one win away from advancing to Super Regionals
Sunday sets up well for No. 1 Tennessee (52-11) because of the big outing from Behnke, who gave up just three hits his three scoreless innings while striking out three. The Vols now await the winner of Sunday afternoon’s elimination game between Indiana and Southern Miss. The second game is a 6 p.m. Eastern Time start at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Behnke on the season has now appeared in 20 games, pitching 24.2 innings out of the bullpen with a 2.92 ERA. He has 33 strikeouts against just eight walks while giving up eight runs on 17 hits.
He made three appearances in Tennessee’s five games at the SEC Tournament in Hoover last week. He gave up a run on two hits against Vanderbilt, pitched one hitless inning against Mississippi State and gave up two walks on nine pitches against LSU.
“The second appearance in Hoover (against Mississippi State) … was as good as I’ve seen him throw the ball,” Vitello said. “I mean there was no messing around. It was right to it. It was coming out of his hand as good as possible and then the next time out wasn’t as good.
“But I’d rather coach a guy that empties the clip, or however you want to phrase it, and then is running on fumes later as opposed to guy that doesn’t quite know how to pace himself or whatever it might be.”
Up Next: No. 1 Tennessee vs. Indiana/Southern Miss winner, Sunday 6 p.m. ET
Behnke’s 3.1 innings against Indiana was a career high and the most he had pitched since going 2.2 innings against UNC Asheville on February 20.
“I changed, I’m not afraid to mess up,” Behnke said of his last few outings, “ … I’m just going to go out there and just lay it out and see how it goes.”
Behnke said he’s added confidence in all his pitches during his two seasons at Tennessee and throwing everything for a strike
“Just going out there and throwing in the strike zone,” he said.
On Saturday night, Behnke was at his best when Tennessee needed it the most.
“I think that’s the most amount of pitches he’s thrown for us while being here,” Vitello said. “So you could call it his best overall or complete outing.”
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