Tennessee's Hunter Ensley 2-run home run caps 5-0 second inning over rival Vanderbilt
Tennessee scored on three separate at-bats in the second inning against No. 4 Vanderbilt to jump out to a swift 5-0 lead at home.
Jake Kendro opened things up with an RBI double to left field. Maui Ahuna knocked in two more runs with a double of his own, this time to right center to bring Kendro and another run home to extend the lead to three.
Hunter Ensley took the plate immediately after the duo of doubles and belted a no-doubter to left field to bring home Ahuna and give the Vols a 5-0 lead in three hits. The hit was good for Ensley’s fourth homer of the season and gives him 16 RBIs on the season in what is the 24th start of his redshirt sophomore season.
Ensley continued his onslaught with another home run in the fifth inning, his fifth on the season. The Vols bats stayed hot and sent four more runs home before Vandy could even secure the second out of the inning. Leading 9-0 before the end of the fifth and Tennessee is once against on track to run rule one of the best teams in the country for the second consecutive game.
Tennessee will look to complete the three-game sweep of their in-state rivals with a win on Sunday. The Vols previously defeated the Commodores 4-3 in 12 innings on Friday before run-ruling Vandy 17-1 on Saturday behind a nine-run first inning.
Once the Vols can finish up the Commodores at home, Tennessee will host Bellarmine on Tuesday for its mid-week one-off before hosting Mississippi State for a three-game series beginning on Thursday. After that, the Vols have three more conference series before the 2023 SEC Tournament begins in Hoover, Alabama.
More on Hunter Ensley’s season
A Tennessee native, Ensley was the No. 9 rated player in the state by Perfect Game and was the No. 292-ranked player in the Perfect Game Top 500 Player Rankings. He received a medical redshirt during his true freshman season in 2021 before debuting as a pinch hitter against Charlotte. He would be limited in 2022 as well but has become a regular fixture in Tony Vitello’s offense in 2023.
After logging his first career start against Grand Canyon in February this season, Ensley has been a clutch, base-stealing outfielder for Tennessee all season long. He is batting .284, the fourth-best of any Vol this season, and has logged 27 hits this year.