It was win or go home in Knoxville on Monday night, and Tony Vitello’s group had no intention of seeing their season end this early. Tennessee handled Wake Forest, battling back from an early deficit to down the Demon Deacons at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Much was made about who Tennessee would start on the mound with everything on the line. Vitello opted to go with AJ Russell, who was coming off of a 50+ pitch performance on Saturday afternoon. Vitello likely wanted a few innings out of Russell, but he wouldn’t quite get that.
Wake struck first with a two-run shot to chase Russell out of the game early.