| LSU Tigers | 10-33 | | Meetings since 1990 | | 4/14/1990 | Baton Rouge | 2-13 | L | | 4/14/1990 | Baton Rouge (7) | 0-2 | L | | 4/15/1990 | Baton Rouge | 3-9 | L | | 4/13/1991 | Knoxville | 5-3 | W | | 4/13/1991 | Knoxville (7) | 6-5 | W | | 4/14/1991 | Knoxville | 4-11 | L | | 3/28/1992 | Baton Rouge | 1-3 | L | | 3/28/1992 | Baton Rouge (7) | 9-2 | W | | 3/29/1992 | Baton Rouge | 7-13 | L | | 4/3/1993 | Knoxville | 8-1 | W | | 4/3/1993 | Knoxville (7) | 1-4 | L | | 4/4/1993 | Knoxville | 6-2 | W | | 3/29/1996 | Baton Rouge | 2-9 | L | | 3/30/1996 | Baton Rouge | 3-5 | L | | 3/31/1996 | Baton Rouge | 1-9 | L | | 5/16/1996 | Hoover, Ala. (SEC) | 1-3 | L | | 3/28/1997 | Knoxville | 3-12 | L | | 3/29/1997 | Knoxville | 2-7 | L | | 3/30/1997 | Knoxville (11) | 6-8 | L | | 5/16/1997 | Columbus, Ga. (SEC) | 5-12 | L | | 5/1/1998 | Baton Rouge | 3-4 | L | | 5/2/1998 | Baton Rouge | 12-15 | L | | 5/3/1998 | Baton Rouge | 7-8 | L | | 4/2/1999 | Knoxville | 4-8 | L | | 4/3/1999 | Knoxville | 8-7 | W | | 4/4/1999 | Knoxville | 4-3 | W | | 5/4/2002 | Knoxville | 2-1 | W | | 5/4/2002 | Knoxville | 4-16 | L | | 5/5/2002 | Knoxville | 2-6 | L | TENNESSEE vs. LSU Tennessee and LSU have met 43 times with the Tigers holding a 33-10 series advantage since the first meeting in 1907. LSU took the series last year in Knoxville, two games to one.
This will be the first trip to Baton Rouge since 1998. The last two series (1999 and 2002) have been in Knoxville. LSU has won 21 of the 23 meetings on the Bayou with UT's last win coming in the second game of a doubleheader in 1992. The only other win came in 1973.
Tennessee has won three of the last five games with its last series win over LSU coming in 1999 in Knoxville. UT has never won a series at LSU. Head coach Rod Delmonico is 8-21 against LSU.
Tennessee at a Glance The Tennessee Volunteers (24-17, 8-10 SEC) play their fourth SEC road series at LSU this weekend. The Vols are 2-7 in league road games and 2-4 against the Western Division this season, having dropped two series at Auburn (1-2) and Ole Miss (1-2) at home. Tennessee plays three of its final four series against teams from the Western Division (at LSU, Alabama, Arkansas) with a season-ending series at Vanderbilt. It will be a tough road against the West for the Vols as those three teams are 22-9-1 against the East (LSU is 7-3-1, Alabama is 6-3, Arkansas is 9-3).
The Volunteers are tied with Vanderbilt for third in SEC Eastern Division with 8-10 records. South Carolina leads at 9-9, a half game ahead of second-place Florida at 8-9-1.
The LSU series is the middle of a five-game road trip leading up to an exhibition contest against the Double-A Tennessee Smokies minor league team on Apr. 30 at Smokies Park in Sevierville, Tenn. (7:15 p.m. ET).
Tennessee is 4-8 on the road this year, picking up wins at The Citadel, ETSU with one each at Auburn and Kentucky. UT won two neutral site games against Old Dominion and James Madison in Charleston, S.C.
Fourteenth year head coach Rod Delmonico picked up his 200th Southeastern Conference victory in a 12-9 win over Georgia 4/11. He sits with a 202-187 mark in league games, while ranking seventh all-time in SEC history with 543 wins (295 losses). He needs 14 victories to tie Florida's Dave Fuller (557-354-6 from 1948-75) for sixth.
Tennessee has faced off against four top 25 teams this season, going 4-8. It swept No. 10 South Carolina, took one from No. 10 Auburn while being swept twice by No. 14 Miami and No. 15 Florida.
UT tied the best start in school history at 8-0 established by the 1992 team. It was the longest win streak since two eight-game streaks in 2001. After getting off to the 8-0 start, Tennessee jumped back into the national polls at No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball. The Vols were ranked as high as No. 17 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Mar. 3, while settling at No. 22 in the ESPN/Sports Weekly and No. 23 in the Collegiate Baseball polls.
The Vols drew 7,754 fans for the Miami series which was the largest attendance for a three-game series since drawing 8,889 for the LSU series in 1997. The season-high crowd of 3,105 against Miami 3/8 was UT's largest regular season draw since 3,337 versus LSU 3/29/1997.
When the Vols win, they win big as as 11 of the 24 wins have been decided by five runs or more. They have also won eight games (1/3 of total victories) in their final at-bat this season. They are 4-6 in one-run games and 7-10 in games decided by two runs or less. VOLS RANK 42ND IN LATEST RPI
After going 3-2 last week, Tennessee fell to No. 42 from No. 38 in the latest RPI rankings published by Boyd Nation at www.boydsworld.com. It peaked at No. 15 following a sweep of South Carolina. The Vols have been aided in their schedule strength by playing four ranked teams over the last seven weekends in Miami, Auburn, South Carolina and Florida. This weekend's opponent, LSU, is No. 9. UP NEXT
Tennessee concludes its five-game road swing with a trip UNC Asheville Apr. 29 at 7 p.m. ET at McCormick Field, home of the Single-A Asheville Tourists.
The Vols then play an exhibition against the Double-A Tennessee Smokies at Smokies Park, Wednesday, Apr. 30 at 7:15 p.m. VOL HITTING NOTES | UT CAREER STOLEN BASES | | 1. | 145 | Mike Basse | 89-91 | | 2. | 134 | Stevie Daniel | 99-01 | | 3. | 124 | Chris Burke | 99-01 | | 4. | 87 | Clay Greene | 96-97 | | 5. | 56 | Jeff Christensen | 98-01 | | 6. | 55 | Ronnie Hartsfield | 78-81 | | 7. | 53 | Bobby Gaylor | 84-86 | | 8. | 51 | Bill Hatfield | 73-76 | | 9t. | 50 | Jordan Czarniecki | 02-03 | | 9t. | 50 | Alex Sanmiguel | 92-93 | Tennessee has been held to seven or fewer hits in four of the last six games, while scoring three or fewer runs five times during that span. They are batting .164 (11-for-67) with runners in scoring over the last seven games. The Vols have been held without a hit with RISP three times in the last five games.
- They are batting .311 (116x373) over the last 11 games, collecting 10 hits six times, while raising the team batting average from .288 to .294.
- Tennessee leads the SEC with 65 stolen bases. Leading the way is Jordan Czarniecki who paces the individuals with 26 in 30 attempts. He is UT's active leader with 50 and needs seven more to vault into fifth place on UT's career list.
- UT has stolen 25 bases in the last 15 games, compared to 17 in the previous 15 contests.
- The Vols have amassed 22 doubles over the last 11 games, compared to just eight in the previous 14.
- UT's nine steals versus Morehead State 2/8 marked the fifth highest stolen base effort in school history. The Vols were a perfect 9-for-9 with Walter Sevilla stealing three, Jordan Czarniecki and Chad LeGate getting two apiece while Brian Cleveland and Javi Herrera had one each.
- Tennessee homered in a season-high seven straight games, collecting eight round trippers from 3/23-4/2.
- The Vols collected their first triple in 18 games when Josh Alley sliced a three-bagger to right field against ETSU 4/2. It was the first triple since the West Virginia game Mar. 2.
- In UT's 17 losses, they are 16-for-118 (.136) with runners in scoring position. They have scored 49 runs in those defeats, being held to two or fewer runs nine times.
- They have collected at least 10 hits in 19 games and plated at least 10 runs eight times. UT has its biggest offensive output of the season in a win over Louisville 3/4 when it scored 18 runs on 19 hits. It also exploded for 16 runs on 19 hits against Georgia 4/12.
- UT has at least four doubles seven times, including a season-high six versus West Virginia 3/2.
| | | PINCH HITTING SEC SERIES | | ? | AVG | H-AB | RBI | BB | | AU | .800 | 4-5 | 3 | 0 | | SC | .200 | 1-5 | 0 | 0 | | UF | .250 | 1-4 | 0 | 2 | | UM | .000 | 0-2 | 1 | 4 | | UG | .556 | 5-9 | 5 | 2 | | UK | .250 | 1-4 | 0 | 0 | | Total | .414 | 12-29 | 9 | 8 | VOLS GET CLUTCH HITS OFF THE BENCH
Tennessee's bench has been a productive unit thus far, as the reserves are hitting .336 with eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 31 RBI. Vol pinch hitters are excelling as well, going 24-for-64 (.375) with 14 RBI and 18 walks. Pinch hitters have reached base safely on 44 of 85 plate appearances (51.7%).
Jimbo Watson leads all pinch hitters with a .500 average, going 9-for-18. He has reached base safely in 13 of 22 plate appearances for a .591 on-base percentage.
Josh Alley has four pinch hits, while Alex Suarez and Jeremy Cabbage have three pinch hits apiece.
Justin Branson became the first Vol to hit a pinch-hit grand slam since Justin Altmann against UT-Martin in 1996 when he slugged his first career home run against Georgia 4/11.
In the Auburn series, Watson, Cabbage, Suarez and Branson combined to go 6-for-9 with five RBI as reserves. Watson had four RBI in UT's 9-6 win. His two-run pinch hit single in the seventh tied it at five while he capped a three-run eighth with another two-run single. Brett Chappell had a triple and two sac bunts with an RBI vs. Ole Miss 4/6. In the Georgia series, UT pinch hitters went 5-for-9 with five RBI.
PITCHING NOTES
- Tennessee's pitching staff has given up two or fewer earned runs in five of the last six games, posting a 2.64 ERA during that span with 45 strikeouts and 14 walks. The team ERA has dropped from a season-high 3.80 down to 3.63. They have held opponents to eight or fewer hits four times.
- The Vols are fifth in the SEC in ERA and fifth in opponent batting average at .256. They are third in the league in fewest home runs allowed with 21. UT has allowed one home run in the last six games after giving up 10 in the previous six.
- Opponents are hitting .256 while averaging 8.7 hits and 4.2 runs per game.
- The staff opened the season without yielding an opponent home run in the first 46 innings until Old Dominion's Brandon LeNoir hit a two-run blast in the second inning.
- They also average 7.99 strikeouts per nine innings while walking just 2.89. That's a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.8. The 1965 pitching staff holds the record of 8.91 strikeouts per nine innings.
- The pitchers have posted at least 10 strikeouts in 10 games with a high of 17 against Morehead State 2/8.
- Even more impressive is the fact that the staff has given up three or fewer walks 29 times. UT's 1994 pitching staff holds the record of 3.04 walks per nine innings. The 1996 staff is second at 3.26. Twenty of the 115 walks issued came in three games against Louisville 3/5 and Miami 3/7-8.
- The staff has not given up more than four earned runs in 27 contests and has been touched for only 96 extra-base hits among the 356 given up (27.0 percent). They have held the opponents to eight or fewer hits 23 times.
HOCHEVAR THROWS 21.0 SCORELESS INNINGS
Freshman Luke Hochevar began his career on a high note by throwing 21.0 scoreless innings in his first five appearances, including one start. He even went 24.0 innings without allowing on earned run.
It was the longest scoreless innings streak since Patrick Hicklen opened his freshman campaign in 2001 with 22 1/3 scoreless innings.
He earned three wins in his first five appearances, including throwing seven shutout innings in a victory over Louisville 3/4 in his first career start. After a loss to Miami 3/9, when he struck out a career-high 10 batters, he threw a complete game in his third career start in UT's 9-6 win over Auburn 3/15, giving up one earned run.
STARTING PITCHER NOTES Ben Riley --Is 2-1 in his last five starts after going 1-2 in his first six ... Ranks second in the league in opponent batting average at .199 while ranking fifth in innings pitched at 71.2 and 12th in ERA at 2.89 ... Has worked into at least the seventh inning in six of his last seven starts ... Holds a 2.28 ERA in his last six starts, giving up three or fewer runs five times ... Has walked 16 in his last 28.0 innings with just 17 strikeouts ... Held opponents to six or fewer hits in nine of 11 starts ... Allowed three or fewer earned runs in nine of 11 starts ... Team leader in innings pitched ... Opponents hitting .199 off him ... Pitched at least five innings in all 11 starts with a season-high 8.0 twice in win versus South Carolina 3/23 and first career complete game at Kentucky 4/18 ... Got third win over Ole Miss 4/4 ... Earned win over Morehead State 2/7, striking out a season-high seven in five shutout innings ... Named SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance ... Has not missed a start in his career ... Is 8-6 in 26 career starts with a 4.11 ERA ... Worked at least five innings in 22 of 26 starts ... Is 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA in April ... Is 5-4 in SEC action with a 4.33 ERA.
Last Start -- Pitched his first career complete game in a 1-0 loss at Kentucky 4/18 ... Surrendered an unearned run on four hits while striking out six and walking four.
Versus LSU -- Earned UT's lone win over LSU last year, 2-1 ... Tossed 8.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks ... It was the first game of a doubleheader due to a Friday rainout. Derek Tharpe -- Is 2-3 in last five starts after going 2-1 in his first six ... Is third in the SEC in strikeouts with 68 and sixth in innings pitched at 68.2 ... Roughed up for 18 runs (13 earned) on 33 hits in the last 28.2 innings for a 4.08 ERA ... Struckout 29 and walked five during that span ... Given up three or fewer earned runs in seven of his 11 starts ... Leads team with 68 strikeouts ... Worked at least five innings nine times, including working into at least the seventh in last six ... Opponents are hitting .272 off him ... Threw his first CG of season in loss at Kentucky 4/19, matching career-high with 11 Ks ... Tossed season-high 8.1 innings in win over SC 3/22 ... Is 4-4 with a 2.95 ERA in nine appearances against SEC opponents, covering 61.0 innings ... Worked 6.0 innings in win vs. West Virginia 3/2 ... Posted a career-high 11 strikeouts in first UT start vs. Morehead State 2/8 ... Owns an 9-19 career Division I record with a 4.80 ERA ... Is 8-16 with a 4.60 ERA in 33 career starts ... Has eight complete games to his credit ... Owns a 1-4 mark with a 5.77 ERA in April ... Transfer from Samford who made 14 starts for the Bulldogs in 2002.
Last Start -- Pitched his first complete game at UT after seven in two seasons at Samford at Kentucky 4/19 ... Struckout a career-high tying 11 batters with no walks in eight innings ... Gave up four runs (two earned) on eight hits. Brandon Crowe -- Is scheduled to make his third start of the season and first since Feb. 16 ... Is 1-0 as a starter this season with a 6.00 ERA in 6.0 innings ... Earned a win over Morehead State 2/9 after pitching a designated four innings ... Has made nine straight relief appearances, picking up wins in his last two outings at ETSU 4/15 and at Kentucky 4/20 ... Logged 10.1 innings in those stints, giving up just three runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and one walk ... Tied with Dusty Johnson as UT's active leader in wins with 11 ... Is 6-0 in eight career starts with a 3.76 ERA ... Owns a 5-4 mark in SEC play with a 4.30 ERA ... Recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2001.
Last Start -- Made his last start against Old Dominion 2/16 in Charleston, S.C. ... Lasted just two innings after giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits with one strikeout. SEC NOTES - The Vols are 8-10 in SEC play. The last time UT was 8-10 was in 1985.
- Tennessee is 6-6 against the East and 2-4 versus the West. It is 6-3 at home and 2-7 on the road.
- In the last four SEC series, UT is 4-8 with a 5.24 ERA in 103.0 innings, giving up 121 hits with 84 strikeouts, 42 walks while opponents hit .293.
- UT is batting .341 (85x249) over its last seven games with 15 doubles and three HRs. It has scored 60 runs during that span, averaging 8.6 rpg.
- Tennessee has done most of its damage in the eighth inning, scoring 24 of its 101 runs in that frame
- The Vols have hit just three home runs in their last nine games after slugging seven in the first nine
- The Vols have won three games in their last at-bat (3-0 and 10-6 vs. SC and 9-8 vs. UK)
- UT held the lead or was tied entering the ninth inning in all three Auburn games
- The Vols are 1-4 in one-run games and 2-7 in games decided by two runs or less
- UT held to one or fewer hits with RISP nine times
HERRERA NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD LIST
Junior catcher Javi Herrera was one of 32 players listed on the initial watch list for the Johnny Bench Award given to the top national collegiate catcher as given by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission.
Herrera was named third team preseason All-America by Baseball America, despite missing most of the 2002 season due to injury. He was a first team Freshman All-America in 2001 after batting .296 with seven home runs and 45 RBI. He hit .200 in only 18 games last season.
Herrera rates as one of the top catchers in the nation, having played on the USA National Team in 2001, and would have been invited back for 2002 had he not gotten injured.
In the Feb. 15 Baseball America Prospects Plus, he ranked as the No. 23 college prospect and the No. 3 catcher behind South Carolina's Landon Powell and Florida State's Tony Richie. Herrera, who is listed as the top collegiate player in the stat, ranks No. 20 among the top 50 juniors in nation.
He was ranked as the No. 4 draft preseason prospect in the SEC by Baseball America behind Landon Powell, c, South Carolina, Paul Maholm, lhp, Mississippi State and Aaron Hill, ss/3b, Louisiana State.
Another receiving preseason honors was Brian Cleveland who was named SEBaseball.com's preseason Newcomer of the Year. SEBaseball.com also selected Walter Sevilla to its first team preseason All-Conference squad and Jordan Czarniecki was named to its Second Team. Ben Riley received honorable mention.
Czarniecki is listed as the No. 12 collegiate prospect in the state by Baseball America.
H ELP OFF THE BENCH
Tennessee's bench has been a productive unit thus far, as the reserves are hitting .387 with six doubles and 18 RBI. Vol pinch hitters are excelling as well, going 14-for-31 (.452) with six RBI.
Jimbo Watson leads all pinch hitters with a .750 average, going 6-for-8. Jeremy Cabbage has three pinch hits, while Josh Alley and Alex Suarez have two each.
The Vols got some help off the bench in its three games against Auburn as Jimbo Watson, Jeremy Cabbage, Alex Suarez and Justin Branson combined to go 6-for-9 with five RBI. Watson had four RBI in UT's 9-6 win. His two-run pinch hit single in the seventh tied it at five while he capped a three-run eighth with another two-run single.
Cabbage had a pinch hit in the first games, driving in one run in the sixth in the 9-6 win. Branson had a hit and a walk in his four plate appearances as a defensive replacement in right field, while Suarez got a single in his pinch hit appearance. ON THE BASES
Tennessee's nine steals versus Morehead State 2/8 marked the fifth highest stolen base effort in school history. The Vols were a perfect 9-for-9 with Walter Sevilla stealing three, Jordan Czarniecki and Chad Legate getting two apiece while Brian Cleveland and Javi Herrera had one each.
Czarniecki, who is 12-of-14 on the season, is UT's active leader with 36. Sevilla is right behind with 31, while going 6-for-9. TENNESSEE ON TV
Comcast Sports Southeast / Charter Sports Southeast announced that it will televise all five of the University of Tennessee's Saturday Southeastern Conference home baseball games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. As a result, start time for those five games has been moved to 7 p.m. ET.
The CSS schedule for Tennessee home baseball games is as follows: Mar. 22 South Carolina, Apr. 5 Mississippi, Apr. 12 Georgia, May 3 Alabama, May 10 Arkansas CSS will also air two other home games against Georgia 4/11 and Alabama 5/4 in addition to road games at Auburn 3/16, Kentucky 4/19, LSU 3/26 and Vanderbilt 5/17.
FOX Sports Net South will show the Saturday 3/29 Florida game while the Sunshine Network will air the Sunday Florida game. Cox Sports will televise the LSU game on Apr. 26 and the Louisiana Sports Network will show the LSU game on Apr. 27. Tennessee will be on live television 15 times during the 2003 regular season. | |
