Despite leading by six runs with one-out in the eighth inning, Tennessee inserted star reliever Aaron Combs to record the final five outs of the Vols’ 12-6 victory over Indiana in the pivotal fourth game of the Knoxville Regional.

Indiana was threatening with two on and had already scored two runs in the inning. After a dominant relief outing from Andrew Behnke, both Marcus Phillips and Dylan Loy combined for just the one out while allowing three hits and a walk. That’s when Vitello made the move to Combs instead of having him go into Sunday’s Knoxville Regional completely fresh.

But according to the Vols’ seventh-year head coach, Tennessee always planned on using Combs at some point.

“There’s nothing to save and today was a big day for anyone that was in the winner’s bracket because you want to get into a position where you can watch the game tomorrow,” Vitello said. “He was down there in the fourth inning, so it was a matter of kind of measuring it the way we wanted to and Behnke kind of flipped the script on us.”

Behnke entered with two outs in the fourth inning after a short Drew Beam outing. But he pitched a career-high 3.1 innings which pushed back Tennessee’s timeline on when it would use Combs.

More From RTI: Everything Tony Vitello Said After Tennessee Defeated Indiana In Knoxville Regional

“Aaron (Combs) always wants the ball,” Vitello said. “The fact he was out there to close it, I think made it a cleaner ending than it could have been and I think he’ll still be available for, again, whatever lies ahead.”

Combs did what he’s done the last two months, shutting down Indiana to end the game. He threw 28 pitches in the final two innings. Its unclear whether Combs could throw tomorrow but if the regional extends to Monday than the right-handed pitcher could eat more innings.

What does Tennessee’s pitching staff have left entering the regional final against either Indiana or Southern Miss?

Zander Sechrist will almost certainly start and is coming off back-to-back appearances where he’s combined to allow two runs in 12 innings pitched. Star reliever Nate Snead hasn’t thrown yet this weekend and has thrown up to 75 pitches in a number of outings in the last month.

Kirby Connell (34 pitches) and Chris Stamos (16 pitches) will both be available after pitching in Tennessee’s Friday night win over Northern Kentucky. Vitello also said that both Phillips and Loy will be available again on Sunday night.

First pitch for the Vols’ matchup against either Indiana or Southern Miss is at 6 p.m. ET at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

The University of Tennessee is adding another international freestyle specialist next season in 18-year-old Australian Koby Bujak-Upton.

Bujak-Upton is coming off a successful Australian Age Championships in April that saw him set lifetime bests in the 50 free (23.20), 100 free (50.26), 200 free (1:49.65), and 400 free (3:56.50). He placed 2nd in the 100 free behind Flynn Southam and 3rd in the 200 free behind Anders McAlpine and Southam, both of whom medaled in the event at last year’s World Junior Championships.

The Knox Pymble Swim Club standout announced his verbal commitment to the Volunteers last month.

“I am excited and proud to announce my verbal commitment to the University of Tennesse (sic),” Bujak-Upton wrote on Instagram. “I am looking forward to pursuing and excelling in my academic and athletic endeavours. I am very grateful for everything my coaches, family, and teammates have done to help me through my career so far. GO VOLS🍊🍊”

Best LCM Times (Converted from SCY)

• 50 free – 23.20 (20.18)
• 100 free – 50.26 (43.83)
• 200 free – 1:49.65 (1:35.90)
• 400 free – 3:56.50 (4:24.98)

Bujak-Upton’s best converted times wouldn’t score at the SEC Championships quite yet, but he’s just half a second shy of C-final range in the 200 free. At last season’s SEC Championships, Cayman Islands star Jordan Crooks placed 3rd in the 200 free, Trinidad and Tobago freshman Nikoli Blackman made the B-final, and Peruvian junior Joaquin Vargas made the C-final. Tennessee’s freestyle group also includes Brazilian sprinter Gui Caribe.

The Volunteer men placed 5th at the SEC Championships in February before finishing 6th at the NCAA Championships in March. Head coach Matt Kredich has been at the helm of the program since 2005. The SEC should get even more competitive next season with Texas joining the conference from the Big 12 this summer.

One interesting wrinkle is that Bujak-Upton is signed to an Australian modeling agency. He could risk losing his F-1 student visa if he does name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals on U.S. soil, but a loophole exists that allows international college athletes to profit off their publicity rights outside the country.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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By Dan Weber
NKyTribune reporter

Against the nation’s No. 1 team in front of a record standing-room-only crowd of 6,396 at Knoxville’s Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the underdog Northern Kentucky Norse gave it a real shot.

And had a shot. From the get-go, which in this first-round NCAA Division I tournament baseball game Friday came on the first at-bat in the game when NKU leadoff hitter Cleary Simpson crushed a home run over the scoreboard in right-center field.

NKU 1, No. 1 Tennessee 0.

For two innings, anyway. And there could have been more as Treyvin Moss followed Simpson’s homer with a sharp double with no outs. So strong was the NKU opening, Tennessee Coach Tony Vitello pulled his starter, Chris Stamos, for a reliever after just one out.

Good move as the long reliever, AJ Causey, came on for 6 2/3 strong innings shutting down the Norse with just two more runs on four hits with nine strikeouts as the Volunteers improved their home record to 36-3 (51-11 overall) with a 9-3 romp over NKU.

The loss sends NKU into a loser’s bracket game Saturday at noon against Southern Mississippi, a loser to Indiana in their Friday game. Tennessee will face Indiana later Saturday.

NKU dropped to 35-23 in its first-ever NCAA Div. I baseball tournament as the result of shaky NKU pitching that gave up three UT home runs after a third inning of three walks and a wild pitch that allowed the Vols to take a 3-1 lead without a hit in that inning. And that was after an unearned run in the second following an outfield misplay.

Careless base-running that saw two Norse picked off – one right before an NKU home run – and the inability to hit with runners in scoring position (NKU was 0-9 there) didn’t help against the nation’s No. 1 team on their field.

NKU’s Nick McClanahan (Photo provided)

Tennessee’s nine runs came on nine hits with those three home runs providing much of the power as the Vols, the only team in the nation with 50 or more wins, added to their 144 home runs for the season.

NKU was its own worst enemy when starter Tanner Gillis, 8-2 coming into this game with three times 72 strikeouts to just 24 walks, had trouble locating the plate early on.

And yet, in the seventh inning, NKU trailed just 6-3 – and it could have been 6-4 without the pickoff before Liam McFadden-Ackman’s home run.

For the game, NKU gave up seven bases on balls to Tennessee’s two while the Norse struck out 11 times to Tennessee’s nine. NKU reliever Nick McClanahan, out of Ryle High School, came on for 3 1/3 strong innings with seven strikeouts.

NKU starting second baseman John Odom had to leave the game after suffering a leg injury sliding into second base in the second inning.

SCORING SUMMARY
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 – 3 6 1
TENNESSEE 0 1 2 3 0 0 1 2 X – 9 9 0
WP: Causey (12-3) LP: Gillis (8-3)
LEADING HITTERS: NKU: Simpson, HR, RBI; Moss 2-3, double; McFadden-Ackman HR; Rowe 2-3, triple. TENNESSEE: Amick, HR, 3 runs; Moore 2-5; Dreiling 3-5, HR, double; Ensley HR.