University of Tennessee Athletics
Baseball Embarks on 3-State Road Trip
March 17, 2008 | Baseball
It???s Spring Break, college-baseball style. Tennessee departs Tuesday for a six-day road trip that features five games in three states. The 30th-ranked Volunteers are winners of their last eight games, including a three-game sweep of LSU to open Southeastern Conference play last weekend.
On Tuesday, the Vols travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Lipscomb at 6 p.m. CT at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen Lee Marsh Stadium. The Bisons own a 7-8 (5-4 A-Sun) record under second-year head coach Jeff Forehand.
Starting pitchers for Tuesday???s intrastate battle are expected to be junior left-hander Joey Rosas (1-1, 7.00 ERA) for Tennessee and freshman right-hander Josh Smith (0-2, 7.59 ERA) for Lipscomb.
The game will mark a homecoming of sorts for current UT outfielders and midstate natives Jarred Frazier and P.J. Polk. Frazier graduated from Shelbyville Central High School in Shelbyville, Tenn., and Polk graduated from Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Big Orange lead the all-time series with Lipscomb 5-0, dating to 1979.
Immediately following Tuesday night???s game, the Vols will travel northeast to Louisville, Ky., for a Wednesday afternoon game against the upstart Louisville Cardinals. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday at UL???s Patterson Stadium.
In his first year with the Cardinals in 2007, UL head coach Dan McDonnell???a former assistant coach at Ole Miss???led the Big East stalwart to a 47-24 (19-8 Big East) record and a berth in the NCAA College World Series. Louisville is picked by Collegiate Baseball to win the 2008 Big East championship.
Tennessee leads the all-time series with Louisville 9-4, dating to 1927. Wednesday???s game will mark just the second meeting in the Bluegrass State. The Cardinals have won three of their last five games against UT.
Junior right-hander Ty???Relle Harris (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is expected to start on the mound for Tennessee Wednesday opposite Cardinals right-hander James Belanger (1-1, 8.00 ERA).
Tennessee will spend Wednesday night in Louisville before heading south to Athens, Ga., on Thursday for a three-game weekend series against SEC Eastern Division foe Georgia at Foley Field. Game times for the Georgia series are set for 7 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Friday and Saturday???s games will be televised regionally on CSS.
VOLS ENTER NATIONAL POLLS, RANKED NO. 30 BY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL
Tennessee made its first appearance in this season???s national college baseball polls Monday, earning a ranking of No. 30 in the latest poll released by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. The Vols are one of six Southeastern Conference teams listed in the top 30 of that poll.
Tennessee did not even receive votes in the 2008 preseason version of any of the four major college baseball polls. Now 16 games into Todd Raleigh???s first year as head coach, the Vols are ranked in the top 30 of the Collegiate Baseball poll and are receiving votes in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches??? Poll and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll.
