Vols Play Weekend Series at Arizona State

Feb. 6, 2002

QUICK FACTS

Tennessee (1-2) at Arizona State (4-0)

Games 4-6

Feb 8-10, 2002

Television: None

HoHoKam Stadium (8,963)

The Series

Arizona State leads 7-1
Last Meetings: 2001 in Knoxville, May 1 -- UT 9-5 (10 innings), May 2 -- ASU 15-1

Probable Pitchers

Feb. 8 at Arizona State (8 p.m.)
UT - Jeffery Terrell, LHP, Jr. (0-0, 3.52 ERA)
ASU - Mike Esposito, RHP, So. (1-0, 7.20 ERA)

Feb. 9 at Arizona State 3 p.m.
UT - Patrick Hicklen, RHP, So. (0-1, 4.91 ERA)
ASU - Ryan Schroyer, RHP, So. (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Feb. 10 at Arizona State 3 p.m.
UT - Ben Riley, LHP, So. (0-0, 3.86 ERA)
ASU - Bryce Kartler, LHP, Jr. (0-0, 5.40 ERA)

2002 Tennessee
Season Ticket Information

RADIO: Vol Network (Jeff Jacoby)

Rankings
BA - UT (nr), ASU (18th)
CB - UT (nr), ASU (20th)
BW - UT (25th), ASU (17th)

THE COACHES:
Tennessee Volunteers
Rod Delmonico (Liberty 1980)
Overall Record: 13th year -- 493-252 (.662)
at Tennessee: 13th year -- 493-252 (.662)
2002 Schedule/Results
2 002 Statistics

Complete UT Release (pdf)
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Arizona State University Sun Devils
Pat Murphy (Florida Atlantic)
Overall Record: 18th year -- 646-314-4 (.673)
at ASU: 8th year -- 273-143-1(.656)
2002 Schedule/Results
2002 Statistics

Projected Lineup

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Pos - Name	2002 Stats	Quick Notes
C - Javi Herrera	.308-0-3	Hit in all three games, Had two hits and three RBI at Miami 2/2
1B - Dennis Gomez	.300-0-0	Hit in two of three games, Had two-hit game at Miami 2/1
2B - Nick Crowe	.143-0-0	Hitless in last six at-bats
3B - Matt Sternberg	.250-0-1	Hit in two of first three games
SS - Walter Sevilla	.385-0-0	Has two multi-hit games
RF - Ryan Moffett	.308-1-4	Hit in all three games, Slugged 3-run HR at Miami 2/3, Leads team with 4 RBI
CF - Jordan Czarniecki	.273-0-0	Two of three hits are doubles
LF - Brandon Hopkins	.417-1-2	Hit in all three games, Hit 10th career HR at Miami 2/3
DH - Adam Smith	.333-0-1	Started two of three as DH at Miami, Hit in last two
or Hal Bibee Jr.	.000-0-0	Started as DH at Miami 2/3

GAME NOTES

Tennessee at a Glance

Sophomore catcher Javi Herrera was named third-team preseason All-America and All-SEC by Baseball America and listed at No. 9 on Baseball America's Fab 50 Sophomores.

Tennessee went 1-2 in its season-opening series at Miami last week and hits the road again to play the nationally ranked Arizona State Sun Devils in a three-game series at HoHoKam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz., spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. The Vols and Sun Devils hooked up for a pair of games in Knoxville last year, splitting the two games.

Head coach Rod Delmonico is seven wins shy of becoming the ninth coach in Southeastern Conference history to reach 500 career victories. Delmonico has spent his entire head coaching career at Tennessee, amassing a record of 493-252 in this his 13th season. His career winning percentage of .662 ranks sixth all-time in the SEC. As Tennessee's winningest coach, Delmonico has accounted for nearly 33 percent of the school's total victories.

Tennessee owns an all-time record of 1,526-1,153-14 (.569), including a 101-41 (.711) all-time record in the month of February. The Vols are 47-13 (.783) over the last five years in February.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
Sophomore catcher Javi Herrera was named third-team preseason All-America and All-SEC by Baseball America. Herrera, a member of the Team USA National Team last summer, was a freshman All-America for the Vols in 2001 after batting .296 with seven home runs and 45 RBI. He was also noted as being the best defensive catcher in the league by Baseball America in its Best Tools section. Herrera was listed at No. 9 on Baseball America's Fab 50 Sophomores.

MEDICAL UPDATE
Tennessee will be without its most experience pitcher for the 2002 season in junior Brandon Crowe. Crowe is out for the season after undergoing "Tommy John" surgery on his right elbow last July. He was a perfect 6-0 last season with three saves and a team-leading 3.68 ERA.

Freshman Rob Fitzgerald broke the hamate bone in his right hand in batting practice and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. He underwent successful surgery, Monday, Jan. 28.

THE ARIZONA STATE SERIES
Series: ASU leads 7-1
at Tempe: ASU 3-0
at Knoxville: ASU 3-1
at Neutral: ASU 1-0

Arizona State leads the all-time series with Tennessee 7-1. ASU took the first six meetings before the teams split two games in Knoxville last year.

This is the first time UT has travelled to Arizona State since being swept in 1988. The last four meetings have been in Knoxville, including the 1994 NCAA Regional.

A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State is 4-0 after opening the season with a three-game round-robin sweep at the Bill Kajikawa Baseball Classic at HoHoKam Stadium. The Sun Devils posted wins over Oral Roberts, Southern Utah and conference rival Oregon State. ASU then picked up its fourth win over Southern Utah Sunday.

The Sun Devils feature a team loaded with young talent and tough pitching, 17 newcomers and a brutally tough schedule. Built in similar fashion to ASU's 1998 team that played for the National Championship, the 2002 Devils are sure to be a scrappy, hustling, typical Pat Murphy squad who will put runs on the board by playing playoff-type baseball, stealing bases, bunting and executing the hit and run to win games.

Coming off a 37-20-1 overall record and 14-10 third-place mark in Pac-10 play in 2001, ASU will look to put a disappointing loss to Texas Tech in the NCAA Regional behind them. Always a contender in the national spotlight, the Devils hope to continue a recent string that has seen the Devils reach the postseason in four of the past five years. Head coach Pat Murphy will have to face the loss of two-time Pac-10 Player of the Year and four-year starter Casey Myers, along with seven starters and three of last year's top four pitchers.

TEAM USA REUNION
This weekend's series with Arizona State will reunite 2001 Team USA members Javi Herrera from Tennessee along with Sun Devil pitcher Mike Esposito.

Last week, Herrera got together with Miami third baseman Kevin Howard and pitcher Kiki Bengochea.

ON DECK
Tennessee returns to Knoxville for its home opener against the Bowling Green State Falcons, Feb. 15-17. Game times are 3 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2 p.m.

The homestand continues the next weekend when the Vols play host to the Eastern Michigan Eagles, Feb. 22-24. Game times are 3 p.m., 2 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Each series will be the season openers for both schools. Tennessee leads the series against BGSU 2-0, with the last meeting in 1993. UT and EMU last played in 1994. The Vols hold an 8-4 series lead over the Eagles.

DELMONICO NEARS 500 WINS
Head coach Rod Delmonico is seven wins shy of milestone win No. 500 in his career. He ranks ninth in all-time victories among Southeastern Conference coaches with his 493 career wins.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Tennessee out-hit Miami in two of the three games and 30-27 for the series.
The Vols were 6-of-7 on the bases with Walter Sevilla and Ryan Moffett leading the way with two apiece.
UT went 0-for-5 with the bases loaded and hit .296 (8x27) with runners in scoring position versus Miami.

PITCHING NOTES

The bullpen was sharp in the first two games, allowing one earned run in 8.2 innings with six strikeouts.
No pitcher on the active staff for the 2002 season has more than one year experience pitching at the Division I level.
The Vols return only 10 wins from last year's 48-win season and just 173.0 innings. Here are their career stats.

THE TRAVELING VOLS
Tennessee will log over 11,000 miles in travel this spring with trips to Miami, Arizona State and Minnesota on the schedule in addition to five Southeastern Conference roads trips to Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Hal Bibee Jr.

Brandon Crowe

Nick Crowe

Jordan Czarniecki

Rod Delmonico

Rob Fitzgerald

Dennis Gomez

Javi Herrera

Patrick Hicklen

Brandon Hopkins

Ryan Moffett

Ben Riley

Walter Sevilla

Adam Smith

Matt Sternberg

Jeffery Terrell

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