University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Open Season with 10-4 Win Over Old Dominion
February 09, 2001 | Baseball
Charleston, S.C. - Chris Burke collected three hits while Jeff Christensen and Javi Herrera each had two hits as the Tennessee Volunteers used a six-run second inning to jump on top of the Old Dominion Monarchs en route to a 10-4 victory at the Berkeley Electric Cooperative Tournament.
For the Vols, it was their seventh consecutive opening day victory and they improved to 10-2 in season lidlifters under head coach Rod Delmonico. They also improved to 4-0 all-time against Old Dominion.
Brandon Crowe (1-0) picked the win after working four shutout innings of relief, striking out four. Starter Devon Nicholson who worked four innings, allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits. Freshman Matt Saumels worked a perfect ninth to close out the game.
Shawn Weaver (0-1) suffered the loss for the Monarchs as he allowed eight runs on 11 hits in six innings.
Old Dominion, which loaded the bases in the first and managed to score only one run, fell victim to four infield singles among seven hits collected by the Vols as they plated six runs in the top of the second in taking a 6-1 lead.
In the second, Tennessee loaded the bases on a double by Dan Wilson, a hit by pitch and a single. Then, a fielders choice and an error plated Wilson and Brandon Hopkins as the UT took a 2-1 lead. The Vols then reeled off five consecutive hits, getting RBI from Kris Bennett, Stevie Daniel, Matt Sternberg and Jeff Christensen.
Not to be outdone, the Monarchs rebounded with a single run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single from Matt Moye. They then struck for two more in the third on an error by Daniel and run scoring single by Jeff Eure to cut the Vol lead to 6-4.
A two-run double by Herrera in the fifth gave the Vols an 8-4 lead, while Adam Smith delivered with a pinch-hit two-run single in the ninth that scored Burke and Daniel for a 10-4 Tennessee lead.
Tennessee will face Virginia Commonwealth, which lost 7-2 to South Carolina in the first game of the tournament, Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.
Tennessee 0 6 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 - 10 13 1Old Dominion 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 4 8 2Nicholson, Crowe, Samuels and Herrera, Bibee (9). Weaver, Williams and Silver. W-Crowe (1-0). L-Weaver (0-1). T-2:52. A-657.
