University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Play Host To Cincinnati Bearcats
March 19, 2001 | Baseball
Cincinnati Bearcats (13-5) at Tennessee Volunteers (20-3)
Lindsey Nelson Stadium at Knoxville, Tenn.
Mar. 21, 2001
Game time: 7 p.m.
Mar. 20 Game Canceled
| PROBABLE PITCHERS |
| Mar. 21, Cincinnati, 7 p.m. |
| UT - Justin Parker, LHP, Sr., (2-0, 2.08 ERA) |
| UC - Joey List, LHP, Jr., (2-2, 3.94 ERA) |
TENNESSEE vs. CINCINNATI
Overall Record vs. Cincinnati: 12-5
Last Meeting: May. 21-22, 2000 in Knoxville (UT 5-2, UT 5-3)
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Tennessee is ranked No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 16 by Baseball America.
Cincinnati is not ranked.
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| Coach Rod Delmonico |
COACHES
Rod Delmonico (Liberty 1980) is in his 12th season at Tennessee with a career record of 464-233.
Brian Cleary (Fairfield 1990) is in his fifth season at Cincinnati with a career record of 105-143.
THE CINCINNATI SERIES
Tennessee owns a 12-5 series advantage over Cincinnati since the first meeting in 1906.
The series resumed in 1999 after a 12-year hiatus. The Vols have won the last seven meetings and are 4-0 under head coach Rod Delmonico.
The last three games have been decided by three runs or less. Tennessee scored two runs in the eighth inning to post a 5-3 win in the last meeting.
CINCINNATI BEARCATS
The Cincinnati Bearcats are led by second team All-America third baseman Kevin Youkilis who is batting .508 (32-for-63) with seven home runs and 25 RBI. Youkilis is rated as the No. 3 prospect and the best defensive third baseman in the conference by Baseball America.
Pitcher Curtis Moak and Youkilis were named preseason All-Americas by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The Bearcats were picked to finish third in C-USA behind Tulane and Southern Mississippi.
They have won seven of their last 10, including taking two of three from conference foe Louisville this past weekend. They opened the season by taking two of three games at North Carolina State.
ON DECK
Tennessee begins a stretch that sees it play eight of its next nine games on the road beginning with a three-game SEC series at Kentucky, Mar. 23-25. Game times are 6 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. ET.
The Vols then travel to Western Carolina, Mar. 27, before returning home for a single game versus Tennessee Tech, Mar. 28.
UT will then go to Auburn, Mar. 30-Apr. 1, before winding up the road swing at East Tennessee State, Apr. 3.
TENNESSEE AT A GLANCE
Tennessee has won two straight games, 10 of its last 11 and 15 of its last 17 en route to a 20-3 record which matches the best starts established by the 1997 and 1951 teams.
The 1951 team finished runner-up at the College World Series with a 20-3 mark, while the 1997 team began the season 24-4 before finishing 42-17.
Tennessee is also 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play for the first time since 1975. The Vols have won both three-game series' against the two teams picked to win the SEC Eastern Division (Florida 3-0, South Carolina 2-1).
Tennessee won its first series over the South Carolina Gamecocks since 1997. The Vols played error-free in their two wins over the Gamecocks, while the bullpen notched two saves and did not allow a run in 6.1 innings. The pen struckout seven against one walk and three hits.
Chris Burke needs just three stolen bases to join the SEC's 100 stolen base club and six hits to move into third place on UT's career hit list. Freshman reliever Patrick Hicklen (1-0, 3 saves, 0.52 ERA) has a scoreless innings streak of 13.1 covering his last five outings.
The Vols are 4-1 in the the second longest homestand of the season that sees them play seven games over nine days.
BURKE: FOURTH ALL-TIME IN HITS
Chris Burke moved into fourth place on Tennessee’s all-time hit list last weekend against South Carolina as he collected career hit 232. He is just six hits shy of overtaking Ronnie Hartsfield for third.
Burke is 49 hits shy of becoming UT’s all-time hits leader, surpassing Todd Helton’s mark of 280 set from 1993-95. He must average 1.48 hits per game over the next 33 games to reach the hit mark. Considering he is averaging 1.65 hits per game in his career, he has a decent shot.
He holds a .391 career average which is the highest of any Vol in the last 30 years.
Burke is also making strides up the SEC’s all-time stolen base list as well. He has 97 steals which ranks fifth in league history and is third in school history. With three more steals, the Vols will have the league’s first-ever 100 stolen base tandem as he’ll join Stevie Daniel.
He got his 200th hit against Virginia Commonwealth and picked up his 100th career RBI with five versus West Virginia.
Burke recently moved into third place on UT’s career doubles list when he picked up his 56th vs. WCU. He needs eight more to become UT’s all-time leader.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
- The Vols were held to 17 hits in three games against South Carolina, batting .193.
- The Vols were shutout for the first time in 79 games by South Carolina, which was the third-longest streak without being shutout in school history.
- Tennessee has collected at least 10 hits 16 times with a season-high 18 against the College of Charleston. The Vols are averaging 11.1 hits per game with 3.7 extra base hits per game.
- They have also scored at least 10 runs 11 times and are averaging 8.9 runs per game. They have scored at least eight runs 15 times. In fact, the Vols have scored over twice as many runs as their opponents, outscoring them 205-94.
- The Vols have been held with out a home run over the last four games which is the longest stretch of the season. They hit a season-high four at Florida 3/11 and have five multi-home run games.
- The Vols have 13 triples with seven different players have at least one.
- Tennessee has played six error-free games. The six games came in back-to-back contests against Dayton 2/25 and ETSU 2/28, Florida 3/11 and EKU 3/13, and South Carolina 3/17-18.
- On the flip side, the Vols have turned 32 double plays, making at least one in 17 of the 23 games. They have turned three twin killings in a game six times.
- The Vols have come up with the bases loaded 38 times this season. They have 17 hits (.447). Jeff Christensen is 5-for-6 with 12 RBI, while Stevie Daniel and Dan Wilson are 3-for-7 with seven and six RBI, respectively.
- Talk about taking advantage of an RBI opportunity, with a runner at third and less than two out, the Vols are batting a collective .745 (70-94). Chris Burke is 7-for-7, Jeff Christensen is 10-for-13 and Stevie Daniel is 13-for-16.
PITCHING NOTES
- The Vols are 14-2 and have a 2.81 ERA over the last 16 games, giving up three or fewer earned runs 13 times. They have struck out 128 in the last 144.0 innings with 49 walks and opponents are batting .234.
- Tennessee has allowed just three home runs in the last 17 games and has gone 18 of the 23 games without giving up a long ball. In fact, UT went 10 straight games without allowing the long ball.
- The pitching staff owns a 2.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio, averaging 8.21 strikeouts per nine innings and walking 3.67 per nine innings. They have seven games with at least 10 strikeouts, including a season-high 13 vs. Richmond.
- The staff has pitched four games without allowing an extrabase hit and has given up eight or fewer hits 15 times.
- The six balks called against Tennessee’s pitchers is the fourth most in school history with the record being 10.
- UT’s bullpen has been extremely tough in SEC play, posting a 1-0 mark with four saves. They have a 1.62 ERA in 16.2 innings with 16 strikeouts, five walks and nine hits allowed.
- The Vols have posted nine come-from-behind victories already this season. Part of that can be attributed to Tennessee’s ERA in the first three innings which is 5.47. In fact, 52 of the 94 runs (55.3%) allowed this season have been given up in the first three innings. Opponents are also batting .291 in the first three innings. In innings four through nine, the ERA is 2.43 with the opponents batting .217.
- Tennessee has been successful when turning things over to its bullpen this season as evidence by the 18-0 mark when leading after six innings. Since 1994, Tennessee has compiled a 265-16 record when leading after six for a .943 winning percentage.
VOLS BOAST STRONG BULLPEN
Tennessee’s bullpen has gotten the job done when called upon this season, posting a 5-0 mark with six saves and 2.19 ERA. Aside from UT’s loss to The Citadel when it gave up six runs in 5.2 innings, the bullpen has an even better 1.67 ERA. The bullpen has worked at least four innings 13 times. Leading the way is freshman Patrick Hicklen who is 1-0 with three saves and a microscopic 0.59 ERA in 17.1 innings. He has not allowed a run in his last five appearances, covering 13.1 innings.
The pen has converted all six save opportunities with four coming in SEC action. The six saves are the most since 1999.
