University of Tennessee Athletics

Vols Face South Carolina in Final Road Series Friday
May 13, 2004 | Baseball
May 13, 2004
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Tennessee (34-16, 12-12) at South Carolina (36-13, 13-11)
Complete UT Release Radio: Rankings THE COACHES: South Carolina Gamecocks
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STARTING PITCHER NOTES | VOLS IN THE MAJORS Tennessee (34-16, 12-12 SEC) is looking to snap a three-game overall and two-game SEC losing skid in its final conference road series of the season. The Vols are 5-11 in their last 16 games after bolting out to a 29-5 start. After winning three of their first four SEC series and starting 9-3 in conference play, the Vols have dropped their last four league series' and gone 3-9. UT is 7-2 against the East and finished 5-10 versus the West. Tennessee tries to reverse a trend that has plagued it the past few weeks. The Vols have won their last three Friday night games, but have lost four straight Saturday and Sunday contests. UT is 6-2 on Friday's in league play, 4-4 on Saturday and 2-6 on Sunday. The Vols have surpassed their win total from last season (31) while posting their 12th 30-win campaign in the last 14 years. UT is 25-8 at home, 9-8 on the road and 10-14 against ranked teams. In the latest NCAA rankings released May 10, the Vols were eighth in ERA at 3.17 and Derek Tharpe ranked 24th in ERA at 2.07. In the pseudo-RPI rankings released by Boydsworld.com, which mimics the NCAA's RPI formula, Tennessee was No. 20. The SEC has nine teams ranked the top 25 of the RPI and 11 in the top 50. Head coach Rod Delmonico is the sixth-winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history with 584 wins. MAGIC NUMBER: With Tennessee holding a two-game lead over Auburn for the final spot in the SEC Tournament, the magic number for the Vols to clinch a spot in the SEC Tournament is five. Any combination of UT wins and AU losses that total five will clinch. The Tigers hold the tiebreaker over the Vols. Here is the formula: Determine the number of games yet to be played, add one, then subtract the number of games ahead in the loss column of the standings from the closest opponent. (6+1-2=5) NATIONAL RANKINGS: Tennessee is ranked No. 23 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and No. 25 by ESPN/Sports Weekly. UP NEXT: Tennessee plays host to the Florida Gators in the regular-season finale, May 21-23. Game times are 7 p.m., 7 p.m. and 1 p.m. ET. SUAREZ AMONG SEC LEADERS: Over the last 22 games, designated hitter Alex Suarez has been one of Tennessee's hottest hitters. He is batting .400 (32-for-80) during that span, hitting safely 18 times, including a season-high eight-game hitting streak. He has 12 multi-hit games with eight doubles, 16 runs scored and 14 RBI since the span started April 3. Suarez finally got enough at-bats to qualify for the SEC leaders and ranks fourth with a .373 batting average while ranking third with a .469 on-base percentage and tying for first with 14 hit by pitches. He has kept up the pace in SEC play as he and Eli Iorg are the only Vols batting over .300. Suarez holds a .381 average which is sixth in league action. IORG COMES ON STRONG: Who would have thought a sore back would be a cure all? Since missing the Ole Miss series with a sore back Eli Iorg has hit safely in nine of the last 10 contests with four multi-hit games. He leads the SEC in steals with 25. Since the final game of the Georgia series, April 11, Iorg has hit safely in 11 of his last 12, batting .345 (19-for-55). He went on a season-high eight-game hitting streak during that span. In his previous 16 games, he was 15-for-64 (.234). KEEP ON DRUCKING:
STREAKIN': Josh Alley, Eli Iorg and Kyle Norrid are the current leaders in the clubhouse with five-game hitting streaks. Michael Rivera owns the longest hitting streak for a Vol this season at 10 games, while Cleveland and Josh Alley each had nine-game streaks. CHASING HEADLEY: If you can't find Chase Headley in the position he played yesterday, just scan the field again because he is turning into a well-traveled Vol lately. After making four starts at third to begin the season, he suffered a hamstring injured that forced him to miss 10 games. He was then relegated to the DH role where he made 13 starts. Then in the third game of the Ole Miss series, Headley started in left before moving to right for the next six games. He started his fourth position at first base in the final two games of the Arkansas series and started twice in right and once at first in the Vanderbilt series. Since breaking back into the starting lineup April 18, Headley has hit in nine of the last 12 games, batting .302 (13-for-43). CROWE HOPS: Catcher Nick Crowe ranks third in the SEC by throwing out 14 of the 45 runners attempting to steal on him for a 31 percent clip. He has also been a clutch hitter, collecting 14 of his 28 RBI with two out. SEC NOTES:
OFFENSE NOTES:
PITCHING NOTES:
SERIES BUSINESS: Under Delmonico, the Volunteers have done well in three-game series play. Tennessee has won 89 of 170 series (52 percent). Of the Vols' 89 series wins, 42 (47 percent) have been sweeps. PACK IT UP AFTER SIX: Since 1994, the Vols have been pretty much unbeatable when leading after six innings. Over the last 10 years, UT has compiled a 351-22 (94 percent) mark when leading after six. BENCH PRODUCTION:
DELMONICO IS SIXTH ON SEC WINS CHART: Head coach Rod Delmonico moved into sole possession of sixth-place on the SEC career victories list following the Vols' 13-4 win over Tennessee Tech. He has 584 wins and now sets his sights on former Auburn coach Hal Baird who is fifth with 634 victories. In fact, Delmonico and Mississippi State's Ron Polk are the only active coaches in the league with more than 500 career victories. RIVERA NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Right fielder Michael Rivera was named the Southeastern Conference's Player of the Week March 15 after hitting .632 (12-for-19) and raising his average from .282 to .397 in five games against Niagara and Siena. He is the first Vol since Chris Burke in 2001 to be named player of the week. The sophomore from Miami, Fla., batting from the No. 9 slot in the lineup, tied a career-high with four runs scored against Niagara. He led the Vols with eight runs scored and 12 hits. Rivera collected four multi-hit games during the five-game stretch while posting a .947 slugging average with a .650 on-base percentage. VOLS SET HOME WIN STREAK MARK: Tennessee set a school-record with 22 straight home games dating back to last season as it won its first 16 to start the season. It shattered the previous mark of 15 set between the 1996-97 seasons. RECORDS SET: The Vols have tied or set a few offensive records this season. Here's a look:
? MOREHEAD STATE SERIES RECAP:
MIAMI SERIES RECAP:
EMU SERIES RECAP:
GEORGIA STATE SERIES RECAP:
NIAGARA SERIES RECAP:
SIENA SERIES RECAP:
MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES RECAP:
AUBURN SERIES RECAP:
KENTUCKY SERIES RECAP:
GEORGIA RECAP:
OLE MISS RECAP:
LSU RECAP:
ARKANSAS RECAP:
VANDERBILT RECAP:
STARTING PITCHER NOTES: Here are some notes on this weekend's starting pitchers. Luke Hochevar, RHP (3-1, 3.55 ERA) ... Will be making his sixth start of the season and 11th of his career ... Returned to the lineup four weeks ago after missing eight weeks due to a lower leg injury suffered in the season opener and a head injury sustained on March 13 ... Is coming off a complete game victory over Vanderbilt 5/7 in which he limited the Commodores to three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk ... Is 2-0 in his last three starts with a 3.00 ERA in 18.0 innings with 17 strikeouts and nine walks ... Pitched five innings at Arkansas 5/2 in his first SEC start, taking a no decision ... In season opener, tossed seven no-hit innings against Morehead State 2/13, matching his career high with 10 strikeouts ... Pitched two scoreless innings in a start against Carson-Newman 4/14 in his return from injury ... Took loss to Ole Miss 4/17 in 3.0 innings of relief ... Roughed up for five runs on four hits in three innings of relief against LSU 4/24 ... Is 5-1 in 10 career starts with a 4.07 ERA ... Is 4-5 with a 5.57 ERA in SEC action. Craig Cobb, RHP (3-1, 2.44 ERA) ... An invited walk-on who will be making his fourth start and third in SEC play ... Is coming off back-to-back complete games performances against Arkansas 4/30 and Vanderbilt 5/8 ... Not since Jamie Bennett in 1999 has a UT pitcher thrown back-to-back complete games ... The last time a pitcher threw three straight CGs was R.A. Dickey in 1996 against Ole Miss, Kentucky and Miami ... Pitched a complete-game five hitter in his first SEC start giving up three first inning runs before shutting out the Razorbacks over the final eight innings ... Limited Vanderbilt to two runs on eight hits with a career-high five strikeouts and three walks ... Has been used mainly as a short reliever, making the third most relief appearances on the staff with 13 ... Earned a win in his first start against Niagara 3/10 in game one of a doubleheader ... Tossed seven innings in that outing, giving up two runs on six hits with two strikeouts ... Had not allowed an earned run in his last five relief appearances (6.0 innings) and had been unscored upon in his last four ... Made four relief appearances in SEC play, pitching three innings twice against Auburn 3/28 and LSU 4/25 ... Earned his first win at Miami 2/21, pitching a season-high 3.2 innings of relief, striking out a season-high four. Sean Watson, RHP, Fr. (4-4, 3.37) ... Will be making his team-high 13th straight start ... Has four no-decisions in his last nine starts, going 2-3 with a 3.81 ERA ... Has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 11 of 12 starts ... Worked at least five innings in eight of his starts ... Has walked 32 batters with 30 strikeouts over his last 44.2 innings ... Lost his last three starts (LSU 4/24, Arkansas 5/1, Vanderbilt 5/9), giving up 12 runs (11 earned) on 16 hits in 15.2 innings (6.32 ERA) with nine walks and 11 strikeouts ... Matched his season high with 8.0 innings against Kentucky 4/3, picking up the win after allowing one run on two hits ... Logged eight shutout innings in his first career win against Georgia State 3/6 ... Struckout five in his debut against Morehead State 2/14 ... Won his first SEC road start at Miss. State 3/20, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) ... Took no decisions in back-to-back conference starts at Georgia 4/10 and Ole Miss 4/17, giving up five runs (three earned) on 10 hits in 11.0 innings with eight strikeouts and nine walks ... Ran into trouble against Auburn, pitching a season-low three innings with a season-high six strikeouts. VOLS IN MAJOR LEAGUES: Eight former Vols are set to play in the Majors this season, and a ninth, Chris Burke, is on Houston's 40-man roster. Tennessee tied with Arizona State for 10th place in the number of big leaguers in 2003.
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