Zane Denton made a huge play with his glove to help turn the series around
Zane Denton has become a household name in Knoxville, as well as to college baseball fans who've paid just a shred of attention to this postseason. Denton slugged his way into Tennessee baseball fans' hearts a week and a half ago in Clemson, SC. Trailing 4-2 in the top of the 9th with 2 outs, […]
Zane Denton has become a household name in Knoxville, as well as to college baseball fans who've paid just a shred of attention to this postseason.
Denton slugged his way into Tennessee baseball fans' hearts a week and a half ago in Clemson, SC. Trailing 4-2 in the top of the 9th with 2 outs, Denton turned on a fastball and crushed a 3-run home run out of the stadium. The Vols would go on to win 6-5 in 14 innings. Instead of falling into the losers' bracket and having to win three straight games to win the regional, Tennessee slid into the driver's seat and went on to clinch the regional win a 9-2 win over Charlotte.
Then, in Game 3 of the Super Regional in Hattiesburg, Denton hit a shot over the wall in right center to extend a tight 1-0 game to a comfortable 4-0 lead. UT went on to win 5-0 to advance to the College World Series.
Denton's bat was ballyhooed when Denton picked Tennessee as his transfer destination back in July 2022. The Brentwood, Tennessee product, who played at Ravenwood High School, was the Alabama Crimson Tide's 2022 leader in home runs (13), RBIs (48), and total bases (112).
But it was Denton's glove that also made him an intriguing player to replace the outgoing Trey Lipscomb at the hot corner for the Vols. Denton posted a sterling .971 fielding percentage for the Crimson Tide in 2022, committing just 4 errors in 58 games. So far this season, Denton has again committed just 4 errors.
And it was that same steady glove that made a huge play for the Vols in Hattiesburg. In Game 2, UT trailed 4-0 after Christopher Sargent hit a 3-run home run bottom of the third. With no outs still recorded, Tate Parker hit a shot down the third base line, surely headed for the corner. Denton went full extension, snared the sharp grounder, and quickly fired to first for the inning's first out.
"Wow! Did they need that!" exclaimed broadcast commentator Todd Walker. And did they ever.
What could have been further disaster for Tennessee was avoided. No one else reached base that inning, and Chase Dollander settled in, retiring 16 of his next 18 batters as Tennessee's offense came to life and flipped the game – and series – around.
Sometimes it takes one great at bat or one great play with the glove to turn a game around. Denton managed to flip Tennessee's 2023 postseason fortunes with both.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
