Tennessee’s Ariel Antigua capped off a great summer of baseball and was named to the All-Appalachian League team.
While playing for the Burlington Sock Puppets, Antigua had a .442 batting average and a 1.079 OPS in 77 total at-bats. He also had six doubles, 19 RBI, and 20 runs.
He only struck out in seven of his at-bats during the summer league season.
Antigua made history in the Appalachian League as well. On June 26, when Burlington played the Pulaski River Turtles, he had a six-hit game. This is the most hits by a player in a single game in the summer league’s history.
‼️ History made in the #AppyLeague ‼️
Last night, @GoSockPuppets infielder Ariel Antigua set a single-game record with 6️⃣ hits, powering Burlington to an 11–5 win.@antigua_ariel | @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/ewIceIfq5Y
— Appalachian League (@AppyLeague) June 27, 2025
The Tennessee Volunteer helped lead the Sock Puppets to a 29-17 overall record. Burlington had the best record in the Appalachian League’s East division.
Antigua has played in two seasons with Tennessee in his collegiate career. He was a part of the Volunteers 2024 national championship team.
In 96 total at-bats in his career, he has a .198 batting average with 15 RBI.
His best game of the 2025 season came against the Alabama Crimson Tide on March 22. He had three hits, scored two runs, and also had an RBI.
Defensively, Antigua has been an infielder that Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello has utilized a lot in substitution situations.
This has paid off in a lot of different games, including a game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 30. In that matchup, Antigua had seven assists and three putouts. It was his best defensive performance of the season.
In 2025, the Volunteers finished with a 46-19 overall record and were 16-14 in SEC play.
They made the NCAA Tournament and hosted a regional in Knoxville as the number 14 overall national seed.
Despite losing to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Fayetteville super regional, Tennessee became the only program in college baseball history to make it to five straight super regionals.
More NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Tennessee infielder Ariel Antigua (2) plays East Tennessee in an NCAA baseball game on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)
