| Projected Lineup | | TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS | | Pos - Name | Quick Notes | | C | Kelly Edmundson
(6-0, 200, R/R, So.) | .276 - 2 HR - 13 RBI (Last 10: .226, 4 RBI) | | 1B | Chris Kemp
(6-4, 205, L/R, Jr.) | .285 - 2 HR - 45 RBI (Last 10: .231, 2 2B, 4 RBI) | | 2B | Eric King
(5-10, 177, R/R, Jr.) | .281 - 2 HR - 40 RBI (Last 10: .132, 3 RBI) | | SS | Brian Cleveland
(6-1, 183, R/R, Sr.) | .292 - 6 HR - 43 RBI (Last 10: .316, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 runs scored) | | 3B | Kyle Norrid
(6-0, 205, R/R, So.) | .307 - 2 HR - 30 RBI (Last 10: .256, 5 2B, 5 RBI) | | LF | Eli Iorg
(6-3, 200, R/R, So.) | .330 - 3 HR - 35 RBI (Last 10: .350, 2 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 6 runs scored) | | CF | Josh Alley
(5-9, 179, L/L, So.) | .307 - 5 HR - 25 RBI (Last 10: .269, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 runs scored) | | RF | Michael Rivera
(5-10, 194, R/R, So.) | .301 - 2 HR - 18 RBI (Last 10: .208, 1 2B, 5 runs scored) | | DH | Alex Suarez
(6-0, 190, R/R, Jr.) | .337 - 3 HR - 31 RBI (Last 10: .225, 2 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI) | | RF/!B | Chase Headley
(6-2, 195, S/R, So.) | .299 - 2 HR - 22 RBI (Last 10: .286, 1 2B, 3 RBI) | | | |
| NCAA Regional Notebook STARTING PITCHER NOTES NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES: Tennessee is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first since 2001 ... The Volunteers have made three trips to the College World Series in 1951, 1995 and 2001 ... UT has won two NCAA Regionals (1995 & 2001) ... The Vols also won their only Super Regional in 2001, defeating East Carolina ... Tennessee has won at least one game in each of the six regionals played under head coach Rod Delmonico ... UT has played host to four regionals, while traveling to Clemson, S.C., in 1996 and Stillwater, Okla., in 1997. VOLS AT A GLANCE: Tennessee owns a 37-22 mark after posting a 1-2 mark and fifth-place finish at the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
UT is 27-9 at home, 9-11 on the road, 1-2 at neutral sites and 13-20 against ranked teams.
The Vols are 8-17 in their last 25 games after bolting out to a 29-5 start.
The Volunteers finished fifth in the Eastern Division with a 14-16 record, posting the most conference victories since an 18-12 league mark in 2001.
The Vols have surpassed both their overall (31) and conference win (13) totals from last season. They posted their 12th 30-win campaign in the last 14 years.
Head coach Rod Delmonico is the sixth-winningest coach in Southeastern Conference history with 587 wins.
After winning three of their first four SEC series and starting 9-3 in conference play, the Vols dropped five of their last six league series, going 5-13. UT was 9-6 against the East and 5-10 versus the West. NCAA TOURNAMENT: Tennessee is making its eighth NCAA Tournament apperance and its first since 2001. The Vols own a 25-15 mark in tournament play with two regional championships (1995, 2001) and one Super Regional title (2001).
Dusty Johnson, Patrick Hicklen, Beau Massey and Brandon Crowe are the only Vols remaining from the 2001 team. Hicklen and Johnson are the only players to have played in the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Rod Delmonico has now guided the Vols to seven NCAA Tournaments, posting a 17-9 mark.
Dusty Johnson, Patrick Hicklen, Beau Massey and Brandon Crowe are the only Vols remaining from the 2001 team. Johnson is the only player to have played in the SEC Tournament. He lost his start against Florida. AGAINST THE FIELD: Tennessee played nine teams in the 64-team field, going 12-18. The Vols were 3-0 vs. Georgia, 2-1 vs. Florida, 2-1 vs. Mississippi State, 2-3 vs. Arkansas, 1-2 vs. Vanderbilt, 1-2 vs. Miami, 1-2 vs. LSU, 0-3 vs. Ole Miss and 0-4 vs. South Carolina. KINSTON REGIONAL: Tennessee is 3-1 against the field in the Kinston regional. Here is a series breakdown of the teams in the regional.
East Carolina -- Tennessee leads the all-time series with the Pirates, 2-1. The Vols won the Kinston Super Regional over East Carolina in 2001, 13-10 and 6-3, to advance to the College World Series. The teams first met in the 1996 Ralston-Purina Baseball Challenge in Wilmington, N.C., where the Pirates won 5-4. ECU head coach Randy Mazey was an assistant coach for the Volunteers from 1999-2002. UT head coach Rod Delmonico is 29-10 against Conference USA teams.
UNC-Wilmington -- The only meeting between the schools came at the 1996 Ralston-Purina Baseball Challenge in Wilmington, N.C., where the Volunteers won 12-1. Tennessee will play a preseason tournament hosted by Wilmington in the 2005 season. Head coach Rod Delmonico is 9-0 against Colonial Athletic Association teams.
Stony Brook -- Tennessee and Stony Brook have never met on the diamond. The Vols have only played one team from the America East Conference and that was Northeastern in the 1994 NCAA Mideast Regional. UP NEXT: If Tennessee should win the Kinston Regional, it will face the winner of the Columbia Regional in the Super Regional, June 11-14. The site will be announced Sunday June 6 at 11 p.m. ET on ESPN. SEC TOURNAMENT: Tennessee, the No. 8 seed at the Southeastern Conference Tournament, went 1-2, finishing in a tie for fifth with Georgia. The Volunteers won the opener, 8-6 in 13 innings over the top seed Arkansas Razorbacks. UT then dropped its next two games to South Carolina, 5-1, and Arkansas, 4-1.
It was Tennessee's first trip to the tournament since 2001 and its second since 1997.
Eli Iorg had four hits for the Vols in the first game and finished as UT's leading hitter at .462 (6-for-13) with a double and two RBI. He was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Chris Kemp added two doubles and an RBI as part of a 3-for-7 performance.
Craig Cobb picked up a save in game one and started in game two taking the loss. He worked eight innings allowing four runs on seven hits. Scot Drucker picked up UT's lone win in 5.2 innings of relief. STARTING PITCHER NOTES: Here are some notes on the first two starting pitchers.
Patrick Hicklen, RHP, Jr. (4-2, 3.33) ... Primarily used as a long reliever this season, Hicklen will be making his second start ... Pitched at least three innings of relief six times ... His only start came in game one of a doubleheader against Eastern Michigan Feb. 28 when he pitched five innings, allowing three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks ... Is coming off two long relief outings against Arkansas 5/26 in the SEC Tournament in which he pitched 6.1 innings and a 7 1/3-inning relief performance against Florida 5/22 where he got a win after striking out a season-high 10 while giving up three runs on five hits ... It was his longest outing of the season ... In his last two outings he has 18 strikeouts in 14.0 innings with six walks while allowing 10 hits with a 3.21 ERA ... Earned wins over Eastern Michigan, Siena 3/13, LSU 4/23 and Florida ... Got a save against Miss. State 3/20 ... In his last six appearances, dating back to the Ole Miss series April 18, he is 2-0 with a 4.01 ERA in 24.2 innings, striking out 23 and walking nine. Luke Hochevar, RHP (3-2, 3.33 ERA) ... Will be making his ninth start of the season and 14th of his career ... Returned to the lineup seven 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 ... Has worked into at least the seventh inning in his last four starts, including a complete game victory over Vanderbilt 5/7 ... He limited the Commodores to three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk ... Struck out nine in 7.1 innings loss to South Carolina 5/14, giving up two runs on five hits ... Had a no-decision in 7.1 innings against Florida 5/21, allowing four runs on 10 hits ... Allowed one run on five hits 6.1 innings with six strikeouts and three walks versus Arkansas 5/26 in the SEC Tournament, taking a no decision ... Is 2-1 in his last six starts with a 3.00 ERA in 39.0 innings with 37 strikeouts and 17 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 ... Got hit in head by batted ball during batting practice of Siena game 3/13, the day before he was scheduled to start ... 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 5-2 in 13 career starts with a 3.79 ERA (78 Ks in 80.2 IP) Craig Cobb, RHP (3-4, 3.07 ERA) ... An invited walk-on who will be making his seventh start ... Became the first Vol since R.A. Dickey in 1996 to pitch three straight complete games (Arkansas 4/30, Vanderbilt 5/8, S. Carolina 5/15) ... Vols were shutout twice in that span ... Is 1-4 in last five starts with a 3.60 ERA (40.0 IP) ... He has given up 37 hits with 20 strikeouts and 12 walks during that span ... He has allowed three or fewer runs in four of six starts, pitching at least 7.0 innings in each outing ... Took fourth straight loss to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament, allowing four runs on six hits in seven innings ... Struck out a season-high seven at South Carolina 5/15, limiting the Gamecocks to two runs on six hits ... 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 five strikeouts and three walks ... Had 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.
SUAREZ NAMED SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC: Designated hitter Alex Suarez was the only Volunteer named All-Southeastern Conference as a second team selection by the league coaches. He was also selected second team All-SEC DH by SEBaseball.com.
Over the last 31 games, designated hitter Alex Suarez has been one of Tennessee's hottest hitters. He is batting .339 (39-for-115) during that span, hitting safely 24 times, including a season-high eight-game hitting streak. He has 13 multi-hit games with nine doubles, 18 runs scored and 18 RBI since the span started April 3.
IORG MAKES ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: After batting .462 (6-for-13) in the 2004 SEC Tournament, Eli Iorg was named to the All-Tournament team. He was the only Vol to collect a hit in all three games. He opened the tournament with a 4-for-6 night with a double and two RBI in UT's 8-6 extra-inning victory over Arkansas. Iorg also drew two walks and stole a base.
Since missing the Ole Miss series with a sore back Iorg has hit safely in 15 of the last 19 contests with six multi-hit games. Since the final game of the Georgia series, April 11, Iorg has hit safely in 17 of his last 21, batting .352 (32-for-91). He went on a season-high eight-game hitting streak during that span. In his previous 16 games, he was 15-for-64 (.234).
Iorg had three four-hit games in his last 13 games. He went 4-for-4 vs. Vanderbilt 5/17, 4-for-5 with a grand slam at South Carolina 5/16 and 4-for-6 versus Arkansas 5/26 in the SEC Tournament. VOLS RECEIVE DIPLOMAS: Five Volunteers received their diplomas this spring. They were Derek Tharpe (speech communication), Ben Riley (sport management), Dusty Johnson (finance), Brett Chappell (sociology) and Patrick Hicklen (sport management). Beau Massey is on track to receive his degree in sociology in December. HOCHEVAR NAMED TO GOOD WORKS TEAM: Sophomore pitcher Luke Hochevar was named to the 2004 Southeastern Conference Baseball Good Works Team as announced by the league office. The SEC sponsors a Good Works Teams for all 20 sports it sponsors. The Baseball Good Works Team represents 11 SEC athletes, one from almost all competing institutions. The Good Works Team looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.
Hochevar has been active in service with Norwood Elementary School as part of the "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" literacy event and the MDA's Muscle Team Dinner. He also has read to kids at Sarah Moore Green Elementary and Farragut Intermediate Schools.
The Fowler, Colo. native visits patients at East Tennessee Children's Hospital and Saint Mary's Hospital and has been involved in the Salvation Army's Stuff-A-Stocking Christmas program. Hochevar also served as a finish line greeter at Buddy's Race Against Cancer, spoke to a local young entrepreneur's group, signed autographs for children at VASF Day and worked with his team gathering donations for the Missions of Hope Charity. KEEP ON DRUCKING: UT's relief ace Scot Drucker is 5-2 with two saves in his last 17 appearances covering 35.0 innings with 38 strikeouts and 2.57 ERA.
Drucker tied Todd Helton's single-season mark with his 30th pitching appearance in a win over Arkansas in the SEC Tournament. In the SEC, he is third in the SEC in appearances (30), first in games finished (26) and tied for third in relief appearances (29).
Drucker has not allowed an earned run in 20 of his last 26 appearances (42.2 IP), posting a 2.72 ERA.
He has converted five of eight save opportunities and is leads the team lead with eight wins.
Against Kentucky he picked up two wins, while he saved the Georgia State series by earning a win and two saves in all three games. STREAKIN': Eli Iorg is the current leader in the clubhouse with a three-game hitting streak. 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.
 OFFENSE NOTES: The Vols lead the SEC with the fewest strikeouts (286). In 25 of the 59 games, they have been even or plus in walks vs. strikeouts.
- The Vols have collected at least 10 hits 35 times, which has led to a .300 batting average. They have amassed at least a dozen hits in six of the last 14 games.
- The Vols boast 82 steals in 111 attempts (73.8%), led by Eli Iorg's 25 and Josh Alley's 15.
- Tennessee has scored 411 for an average of 6.9 runs per game. It scored at least 10 runs 15 times, including 20 on two occasions (29 vs. Morehead State G2 2/14 and 20 vs. ETSU 3/23). It is 18-3 in games decided by five runs or more, 9-5 in two-run games and 5-8 in one-run games.
- UT leads the conference with 148 doubles which is the fourth-highest total in school history. The record is 152 set in 56 games by the 1998 team.
- Kyle Norrid (.424) is the only Vol batting .400 or better with runners in scoring position. On the season, the Vols are batting .309 with RISP and .349 (29-for-83) with the bases loaded.
- Eric King is 5-for-10 and Chris Kemp is 4-for-11 with the bases loaded.
- UT has jumped on opponents early this season scoring in the first inning 25 times while outscoring them 61-23. They have had a balanced scoring attack, plating at least 40 runs in all but the 9th (12) inning.
- Tennessee has only five multi-home run games this year with a season-high three against Morehead State in the season opener. The last came at South Carolina 5/16.
- When the Vols posted their first sweep at Georgia since 1996, it was their first road sweep of any kind since taking three at Kentucky in 2001.
- Tennessee is playing its 60th game which is the ninth time in school history a team has played at least 60 games. The record is 70 in 1995.
PITCHING NOTES: Tennessee boasts a 3.48 team ERA with eight of the 12 active pitchers having ERAs under 4.00. The staff is averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings while posting a 2.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. - The staff is averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings while posting a 2.2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
- The Vols have posted at least 10 strikeouts 15 times, with a season-high 16 against Kentucky 4/2 and Tennessee Tech 4/21. Twice they have struck out 15 (Auburn 3/27 and Carson-Newman 4/14).
- The pitching staff has given up three or less earned runs 35 times, while allowing more than four earned runs in a game just 16 times.
- UT's starting pitching has a 25-14 mark with a 3.45 ERA while averaging nearly six innings per outing.
- The relievers are 12-8 with a 3.54 ERA and nine saves in 12 opportunities.
BENCH PRODUCTION: Tennessee has gotten solid production off the bench as the reserves are batting .310 (58-for-187) with 47 runs scored, 22 doubles, one triple, four home runs and 53 RBI. - Rob Fitzgerald has been productive by going 9-for-26 (.346) with two doubles, a triple, a game-winning HR vs. Florida 5/22, eight runs scored and eight RBI.
- Kelly Edmundson has five doubles and a pair of home runs while going 11-for-32 (.344) with eight RBI.
- Brett Chappell has gone 9-for-30 (.300) with three doubles and seven RBI.
- Todd Martin is 4-for-14 (.286) with a double and two RBI, while Michael Rivera is 4-for-11 (.364) and Chris Kemp is 6-for-11 (.545) with two doubles and three RBI.
- Alex Suarez showed great execution, going 7-for-21 (.333) with five doubles, a home run and seven RBI.
- As a group, UT pinch hitters are 19-for-62 (.306) with six doubles, a triple, a home run and 19 RBI.
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