University of Tennessee Athletics
Diamond Vols Topple USC Upstate 9-4
March 25, 2008 | Baseball
Box Score |??Box Score (PDF)??
KNOXVILLE ??? Six different Volunteers collected hits Tuesday night as the Tennessee baseball team handed USC Upstate a 9-4 loss at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. With the victory, UT improved to 15-7 overall and 10-2 at home this season.
Tennessee junior Ty???Relle Harris started on the mound and improved to 2-0 on the year after working a predetermined three innings. The right-hander from Fairfield, Calif., allowed two runs on four hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Freshman left fielder P.J. Polk continued the fine play he exhibited during last week???s five-game road trip, driving in a pair of runs Tuesday. Junior shortstop Danny Lima also drove in two runs while going 2-for-2 at the plate.
The Spartans (10-13) posted a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to jump out to an early lead Tuesday. After a two-out single by Andrew Runion, Upstate catcher Phillip Morgan smacked a two-run homer to left field.
Tennessee used back-to-back hits by first baseman Yan Gomes and third baseman Cody Brown to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second inning. Gomes led off with a single before Brown smacked an RBI double off the wall in left field.
The Vols were just getting started in the second, however, as Lima and Polk delivered consecutive two-run doubles later in the frame to give Tennessee a 5-2 lead.
Vols sophomore Jeff Lockwood plated Gomes with a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the fifth, increasing UT???s lead to five runs.
Spartans left fielder Kyle Simpson drove in a run in the sixth with an RBI bloop single to left-center, scoring Blake Green.
The Vols loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and a wild pitch by Spartans reliever Justin Hayes enabled UT centerfielder Kentrail Davis to score Tennessee???s eighth run of the day. Freshman right fielder Josh Liles then drove in another run with an RBI groundout, bringing the score to 9-3.
Upstate closed out its scoring in the eighth when Kyle Bowley drove in Jimmy Tanner with an RBI basehit.
Tennessee relievers Zane Stone, D.J. Leffler, Bryan Powell and Ryne Simpson all saw action out of the UT bullpen.
Spartans starter Phillip Myers took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year.
Tennessee now leads the all-time series with USC Upstate 4-1, dating to 1987.
The Vols resume Southeastern Conference play this weekend when they travel to Auburn for a three-game series. Game times are set for 6 p.m. CT Friday, 3 p.m. CT Saturday and 2 p.m. CT Sunday. Saturday???s game will be televised regionally on CSS.
