CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On Saturday, October 4, the Tennessee Volunteers played an intrasquad scrimmage at AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The ballpark is normally home to the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello talked about what it meant to get his team out and playing in front of a crowd in Chattanooga.
“It was surprising how great of a crowd it was,” the head coach stated. “A lot of times, we have played these scrimmages on a Sunday when there aren’t college sports going on. The people showed up and were enthusiastic. They were into the game, and most people stayed until the very end.”
Here are four observations from the action that took place in Tennessee’s scrimmage.
Blaine Brown had one of the biggest performances of the intrasquad scrimmage. He had two RBI and a double as well.
Vitello talked about how good Brown’s swing was during the action on Saturday in Chattanooga.
“His swing is really pretty when he stays in it,” Vitello said. “It is as good of a swing as we have on our team.”
Brown had a .292 batting average, 10 home runs, and 38 RBI in his freshman season with the Rice Owls. He was named All-AAC first team and was also a part of the AAC All-Freshman team.
The scrimmage’s lone home run came from freshman two-way player Taylor Tracey.
He also pitched 1 2/3 innings at the end of the scrimmage, striking out two batters and giving up one run.
Vitello talked about Tracey’s day at AT&T Field and about how he has looked since arriving in Knoxville.
“It has been pretty positive at the plate for him,” Vitello said. “On top of that, the pitching side has also been really good.”
According to Perfect Game, Tracey was a top 100 player in the 2025 class from Austin, Texas. He was a top ten prospect from the state of Texas as well.
Freshman right-handed pitcher DJ McDowell pitched the most innings out of anyone on Saturday.
He pitched three innings and allowed no earned runs. He also struck out two batters during the scrimmage.
Vitello talked about McDowell’s day and development throughout the fall.
“He was throwing a lot of strikes,” Vitello said. “He’s been that guy. He got batted around a lot at our scrimmages in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. For the most part, he has been throwing strikes and getting outs.”
McDowell was a top 300 player in the 2025 class from Atlanta. Perfect Game also ranked him as a top five pitcher from the state of Georgia.
On defense, freshman catcher Trent Grindlinger threw out two base runners in a single inning.
He was also able to tally two sacrifice RBI as well when he was taking at-bats.
Coming out of high school, Grindlinger was a top 30 player in the 2025 class. He was also the second-ranked catcher in the country and a top 10 player from the state of California.
NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: AT&T Field in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Saturday, October 4, prior to the Tennessee Volunteers playing an intrasquad scrimmage (Alfred Ezman)
