No. 3/13 Vols Drop Series Finale to Kent State

Sunday, February 22

Knoxville, Tenn.

1 PM ET

University of Tennessee

5-2

Kent State

5-2

Kent State

Tennessee

February 22, 2026 | Baseball

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Kent State struck early and answered every Tennessee rally, pulling away late behind a solid performance from their bullpen, handing the Volunteers their first series loss of the season on a cold Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Golden Flashes got the scoring started right away in the top of the first inning when second baseman Grady Mee came around to score on a fielder's choice following a leadoff walk and capitalizing on a stolen base and a wild pitch.

The Big Orange threatened in the bottom half of the inning after third baseman Henry Ford doubled down the left-field line, but the threat was thwarted as Ford was tagged out at home while trying to score on a wild pitch.

Tennessee took its only lead of the game in the third inning. A bunt single and stolen base by center fielder Jay Abernathy set up an RBI single by Ford to left field, putting the Volunteers in front, 2-1.

Kent State responded quickly in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs on a double to right-center by sophomore left fielder Max Humphrey, retaking the lead at 3-2.

The Golden Flashes added to their lead in the fifth inning, tallying three more runs that were aided in large part by UT miscues, including two walks, two hit batters and an error.

The Vols punched back with three straight singles from Finley Bates, Abernathy and Ford, to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth. A Blaine Brown sacrifice fly to center plated one before a throwing error on the relay to second base allowed two more runs to cross the plate, cutting the Kent State lead to just one moving into the latter half of the game.

After two scoreless innings, Kent State posted another big inning in the eighth, scoring three more runs to extend their lead to four and all but put the game away.

Tennessee went down in order in both the eighth and ninth innings, as Golden Flashes reliever Evan Holewinski retired 10 straight batters to end the game and earn his first win of the year.

Senior left-hander Evan Blanco struck out eight batters but also walked four while giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits over four innings.

Abernathy and Ford led UT at the plate, combining for five of the team's seven hits and three of its five runs scored on the day.

UP NEXT: The Volunteers will be back in action on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium as they host Bellarmine for a midweek contest before heading to Arlington, Texas for the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series next weekend at Globe Life Field.