KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — The Tennessee Volunteers used a dominant pitching performance and a relentless offensive attack to defeat the East Tennessee State Buccaneers 7-1 in a nonconference baseball game Tuesday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The game’s decisive moment came in the bottom of the first inning, immediately after the Buccaneers had scratched across a run in the top half. East Tennessee State loaded the bases with no outs against Tennessee starter Brady Frederick, but the right-hander escaped major damage by allowing only a sacrifice fly. That escape act set the tone for the evening.

Frederick, named the top star for Tennessee, earned the win with three perfect innings of relief, striking out three. He entered in the first inning after the Buccaneers’ early threat and promptly shut the door, part of a combined effort by six Volunteers pitchers who held ETSU to six hits and struck out 16 batters.

Tennessee’s offense responded immediately in the bottom of the first against ETSU starter Reid Brosnan. After a walk to Jared Abernathy, Henry Ford singled and Blake Brown doubled to tie the score. A groundout by Luke Clark and an RBI double from Reese Chapman capped a four-run rally that gave the Volunteers a lead they would not relinquish.

The Volunteers extended their lead to 5-1 in the fourth on an RBI single by Mateo Marin that scored Camden Newstrom, who had doubled. The final blow came in the sixth inning when Ford launched a two-run homer to left field, scoring Abernathy and providing the final 7-1 margin.

Ford finished 2 for 5 with the home run and two RBIs. Chapman was a perfect 3 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. For the Buccaneers, Tommy Curless, Hayden Ferguson and Jackson Palmese each had two hits.

Following Frederick, Tennessee relievers Cam Appenzeller (two innings, one hit, four strikeouts) and Bo Rhudy (two innings, two hits, five strikeouts) were overpowering. The Volunteers’ bullpen combined for 8 2/3 innings, allowing just five hits and striking out 14.

East Tennessee State’s bullpen also found success after the rocky first. Brosnan, Derek McCarley, Cooper Jones and Cody Carwile combined for 7 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing only three hits and striking out six, but the early deficit proved too large to overcome.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Buccaneers (9-3). The Volunteers (9-3) have won two straight.

East Tennessee State travels to face James Madison for a three-game series starting Friday. Tennessee hosts Oakland on Wednesday before a weekend series against Wright State.

The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a high-scoring 8-7 victory for the Buccaneers. However, it aligned with the system’s ELO rating, which gave Tennessee an 80.8% probability to win.