University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Richmond
Vols Rally Past Richmond 11-8
February 18, 2000 | Baseball
CHARLESTON, S.C.-- The Tennessee Volunteers managed just five hits and chalked up four errors but were able to rally past Richmond 11-8 in the Winn-Dixie Shootout on Friday.
Tennessee (7-3), battling Richmond (1-1) in the second game of the Winn-Dixie Shootout, found themselves in a 1-1 tie going into the bottom of the second inning until Kris Bennett hit a RBI double to give the Vols a 3-1 early lead.
Richmond battled back in the third by scoring four runs on three hits and a Tennessee error. Josh Lamberg started the scoring off a RBI double that brought in three Spider runners. Vito Chiaravalloti drove in the final run of the inning when he slapped a one run double to center field.
It all went down hill from there for Richmond. The Spider pitching staff hit seven UT batters setting a UT school record for number of batters hit in a single game. Middle Tennessee State and Georgia held the previous record of five hit batters.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Vols regained the lead after Richmond pitcher Jason Baker hit two straight UT batters with the bases loaded to drive in two runs and give Tennessee a 5-4 lead.
Richmond battled back in the sixth when Matt Reid hit a RBI single to tie the score at six. But, it was more of the same for Richmond as they gave up two more runs after walking two straight batters to give the Vols an 8-4 lead going into the top of the seventh. The Volunteers went through a span of four innings without a hit but were able to manage five runs thanks to the Richmond pitching staff.
Kris Bennett had a leadoff single in the seventh that sparked a two-hit/three-run inning that capped of the Tennessee scoring and gave the Vols an 11-8 win.
Tennessee will be back in action on Saturday when they face Virginia Tech in the second game of the Winn-Dixie Shootout. Game time is set for 5 p.m. at Joseph P. Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
