| QUICK FACTS |
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Tennessee (10-2) vs. Miami (9-3)
| Games 13-15 | | Mar. 7-9, 2003 | | Television: None | | Lindsey Nelson Stadium (4,000) | | The Series | Overall: Miami leads 8-5 Last series: UM 5-4, UT 7-4, UM 9-4; Feb. 1-3, 2002 at UM | | Probable Pitchers | Mar. 7 - 3 p.m.
UT - Derek Tharpe, LHP, Jr. (2-0, 3.05 ERA)
UM - J.D. Cockroft, LHP, Jr. (2-0, 1.35 ERA) | Mar. 8 - 2 p.m.
UT - Ben Riley, LHP, Jr. (1-1, 2.57 ERA)
UM - Vince Bongiovanni, RHP, So. (3-1, 1.48 ERA) | Mar. 9 - 1 p.m.
UT - Luke Hochevar, RHP, Fr. (3-0, 0.00 ERA)
UL - Brandon Camardese, LHP, So. (2-0, 1.76 ERA) | | Up Next | March 14-16 at Auburn
6:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 1:30 p.m. CT | Complete UT Release (pdf)
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Rankings:
Tennessee:17 NCBWA / 22 ESPN / 23 CB
Miami: 14 CB / 15 NCBWA / 17 ESPN / 20 BA
Pitching Notes THE COACHES:
Tennessee Volunteers
Rod Delmonico (Liberty 1980)
Overall Record: 14th year --529-280 (.654)
versus Miami: 4-7
2003 Schedule/Results
2003 Statistics Miami Hurricanes
Jim Morris: (Elon 1973)
Overall Record: 22nd year--940-395-2 (.704)
at Miami: 10th year--436-151-1 (.742)
2003 Schedule
2003 Statistics |
| Projected Lineup | TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS | | Pos - Name | 2002 Stats | Quick Notes | | C - | Javi Herrera | 359-2-8 | 2003 Third-team Preseason All-America; Hit in nine of last 10, batting .412 | | 1B - | Kyle Norrid | 286-1-7 | Hit in seven of last eight, going 9-for-26 (.346) with four doubles
| | 2B - | Walter Sevilla | 340-0-13 | Is just 2-for-17 (.118) with two RBI over the last four games | | 3B - | Nick Crowe | 394-1-8 | Hit in last three, going 4-for-9 with six RBI, two doubles and a three-run HR | | SS - | Brian Cleveland | .300-2-17 | Hit safely in last seven, going 10-for-29 (.344) with nine RBI | | LF - | Chad LeGate | 400-0-8 | One of two Vols batting .400 or better; Is 4-for-8 with three RBI last three games | | CF - | Jordan Czarniecki | 356-0-11 | Scored a run in first 11 games; Hit in 10 of 12 games with five doubles in last seven | | RF - | Michael Rivera | 412-0-9 | UT's hottest hitter; Is 9-for-14 (.643) over last three games; Hit safely in 10 of last 11 | | DH - | Alex Suarez | 357-0-4 | Started seven of last eight at DH; Hit in four straight and nine of last 10 | | | |
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| GAME NOTES | |
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| TENNESSEE VS. Miami | Miami Hurricanes | 5-8?? | | 2/17/1989 | Miami | 1-4 | L | | 2/18/1989 | Miami (11) | 6-5 | W | | 2/4/1994 | Miami | 0-6 | L | | 2/5/1994 | Miami | 1-3 | L | | 2/6/1994 | Miami | 0-1 | L | | 4/16/1996 | Knoxville | 12-1 | W | | 4/17/1996 | Knoxville | 4-2 | W | | 4/18/1996 | Knoxville (8) | 3-2 | W | | 6/9/2001 | Omaha, Neb. (CWS) | 13-21 | L | | 6/14/2001 | Omaha, Neb. (CWS) | 6-12 | L | | 2/1/2002 | Miami | 4-5 | L | | 2/2/2002 | Miami | 7-4 | W | | 2/3/2002 | Miami | 4-9 | L | Tennessee and Miami have met 13 times with the Hurricanes holding an 8-5 series lead since the first meeting in 1989.
Tennessee opened the 2002 campaign in Miami last year dropping two of three games. The clubs also met in the 2001 College World Series where the Hurricanes eliminated the Vols on the way to the national title. Tennessee swept Miami in its only trip to Knoxville in 1996. Head coach Rod Delmonico is 4-7 against Miami.
TENNESSEE AT A GLANCE
The Vols are off to a 10-2 start, their best since starting the 2001 season at 10-2. They tied the best start in school at 8-0 established by the 1992 team. It was the longest win streak since two eight-game streaks in 2001.
After getting off the 8-0 start, Tennessee jumped back into the national polls at No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball. The Vols are ranked No. 23 in the latest Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 22 by ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 17 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
They have been winning big as eight of the 10 wins have been decided by five runs or more. They have also won three games in their final at-bat. (The Citadel, Old Dominion, Bowling Green G1).
The Volunteers close out their nine-game home stand with a three-game series against 14th-ranked Miami Hurricanes. UT has gotten off to a 4-2 start during the home stand with a doubleheader sweep of Bowling Green State and split of two games with both West Virginia and Louisville.
Tennessee opens up Southeastern Conference play at Auburn next weekend before returning home for five straight games against Purdue, South Carolina and Tennessee Tech.
Brian Cleveland brings the team's longest current hitting streak into the series at seven games. He is batting .344 during the streak.
Also swinging a hot bat is Michael Rivera who is 9-for-14 (.643) over the last three games thanks to a 5-for-5 game versus Louisville 3/4.
UP NEXT
Tennessee opens Southeastern Conference play at Auburn, Mar. 14-16. Game times are 6:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. CT.
It marks the second time in the last three years that the Vols open league play on The Plains. Auburn has won the last six series' over Tennessee dating back to 1997. UT's last series win over Auburn came in 1996 in Knoxville, while the last series win at Auburn was in 1988. Auburn has won 13 of the last 14 games while holding a 71-27 overall series advantage.
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HOCHEVAR EXTENDS SCORELESS INNINGS STREAK TO 18 1/3
Freshman Luke Hochevar extended his scoreless innings pitched streak to 18 1/3 innings following seven shutout innings in his first career start against Louisville 3/4. He gave up just four singles while striking out six and walking two.
It is the longest scoreless innings streak since Patrick Hicklen opened his freshman campaign in 2001 with 22 1/3 scoreless innings. He made six appearances, including a five-hit complete game shutout of Kentucky in his first start. Hicklen is redshirting this season.
Hochevar leads the team with three wins and is tied with Ben Riley for second with 20 strikeouts.
PITCHING NOTES
- Derek Tharpe-- Moves up to start the first game of a series this year against Miami ... Is 2-0 in four starts this season with a 3.05 ERA in 20.2 innings ... Team leader with 23 strikeouts (10.0 K/9 inn.)... Opponents are hitting .257 ... Worked at least five innings in three starts with a season-high 6.0 coming in his last start vs. West Virginia 3/2 ... Held opponents to one run in three of four starts ... Posted a career-high 11 strikeouts in first UT start vs. Morehead State 2/8 ... Owns a 7-15 career record with a 5.05 ERA ... Is 6-12 with a 4.83 ERA in 26 career starts ... Has seven complete games to his credit ... Owns a 3-8 mark with a 4.55 ERA in March ... Transfer from Samford who made 14 starts at Samford in 2002.
Last Start -- Picked up second win of season in a season-high 6.0 innings vs. West Virginia 3/2 ... Allowed one run on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk ... Retired 12 of the first 15 hitters he faced. - Ben Riley -- Slated to start Saturday's game versus Miami ... Is 1-1 in four starts this season with a 2.57 ERA in 21.0 innings ... Tied with Luke Hochevar for second on team with 20 strikeouts ... Pitched at least five innings in all four starts with a season-high 6.0 versus Bowling Green G1 ... Earned win over Morehead State 2.7, striking out a season-high seven in five shutout innings ... Earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance ... Has not missed a start in his career ... Is 6-4 in 19 career starts with a 4.61 ERA ... Worked at least five innings in 15 of 19 starts ... Is 1-2 with a 4.89 ERA in March ... Owns a 3-1 mark with a 3.09 ERA in non-conference games ... Has a 3-3 mark in home games with a 3.56 ERA.
Last Start -- Took loss against West Virginia 3/1, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits in five innings ... Finished with two strikeouts and one walk
Versus Miami -- Took a no decision in UT's 7-4 win at Miami last year ... Worked 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with four walks and no strikeouts. - Luke Hochevar -Earned a win in his first career start against Louisville 3/4 to push his season mark to 3-0 ... Tossed seven shutout innings to extend his scoreless innings streak to 18.1 ... Opponents are hitting .156 ... spent the first four weeks of the season in the bullpen picking up back-to-back wins in relief against James Madison 2/15 and Bowling Green G1 ... Against JMU he pitched the final 4.1 innings while holding the Dukes to one hit while striking out four and walking none ... He retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced ... Struckout five in three innings against the Falcons ... Tossed three shutout innings in his debut against Morehead State 2/9, striking out four and walking none while giving up two hits.
Last Start -- Picked up third win of the season while making his first career start vs. Louisville 3/5 ... Tossed seven shutout innings, allowing four singles with six strikeouts and two walks ... No-hit the Cardinals through the first four innings.
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POTENT LINEUP SEES EIGHT STARTERS BATTING .300 OR BETTER
With a pitching staff that is putting up some outstanding numbers, the Vol offense is clicking as well with eight of the nine starters batting .300 or better. Even the ninth starter is batting .286.
Michael Rivera leads the team with a .412 average, while Chad LeGate is second at .400 and Nick Crowe is third at .394.
Javi Herrera and Brian Cleveland lead the Vols with two home runs apiece, while Nick Crowe and Kyle Norrid have the other two.
The Vols are even getting production off the bench Jimbo Watson is hitting .500, including going 4-for-4 as a pinch hitter. Josh Alley is also batting .400, while Justin Branson has six RBI. |
