University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols continue road trip at Auburn
March 27, 2008 | Baseball
Game Notes (PDF)
Southeastern Conference action resumes this weekend for the Tennessee baseball team as the Volunteers travel to Auburn, Ala., for a three-game series against the Auburn Tigers at Samford Stadium-Hitchcock Field at Plainsman Park. The series begins Friday at 6 p.m. CT. Saturday???s game starts at 3 p.m. CT, and Sunday???s series-finale is set to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
Saturday???s game will be televised regionally on CSS. Barring any scheduling conflicts with UT???s men???s or women???s basketball teams, this weekend???s baseball games will be broadcast on the radio in the Knoxville area on WNML AM 990, FM 99.1 & 99.3. Free audio webcasts of all three games this weekend also can be accessed online at UTsports.com.
The baseball team is one of three UT varsity squads set to invade ???The Plains??? this weekend. Tennessee???s men???s tennis team plays at Auburn Friday night, and the Lady Vols softball team is set to face the Tigers in a doubleheader on Saturday.
Tennessee trails its all-time baseball series with Auburn 29-75, dating to 1948. The programs have not met since 2005, when UT took two of three games from the Tigers for its first-ever series win in Auburn. The Tigers boast a 43-16 series advantage on their home field.
At 15-7 (4-2 SEC), the Vols are one of four teams currently tied for second-place in the SEC Eastern Division standings. Solid pitching has been a key to UT???s success thus far. Tennessee ranks 10th among NCAA Division I teams in hits allowed per nine innings, and UT???s staff ERA of 3.42 ranks fourth in the SEC.
The Tennessee bullpen is riding a streak of 15 1/3 consecutive innings without surrendering an earned run???a stretch that spans UT???s last five games. And with its improved performance, the Vols??? bullpen has lowered its collective ERA to 3.91. Tennessee???s starting pitching, meanwhile, has fashioned a 3.21 ERA.
Auburn (16-9, 2-4 SEC) enters the series in a four-way tie for second place in the SEC Western Division after two weekends of conference play. The Tigers??? team batting average of .311 ranks fifth in the SEC, while their 3.72 staff ERA ranks sixth in the league. Auburn has stolen 40 bases this season under fourth-year head coach Tom Slater.
Outfielder Mike Bianucci has been swinging the most potent bat in the Tigers lineup. The junior leads his team in batting average (.372), runs (24), doubles (13), home runs (4), on-base percentage (.491) and stolen bases (8-of-10). He is one of five Auburn regulars batting .310 or better.
Tennessee sophomore Steve Crnkovich (4-1, 3.74 ERA) will make his usual Friday start on the mound, while Auburn sends left-hander Grant Dayton (2-1, 2.67 ERA) to the hill for the series-opener. Vols redshirt-freshman Bryan Morgado (3-2, 1.82 ERA)???who currently leads the SEC and ranks fifth among NCAA Division I pitchers with 49 strikeouts this season???will start opposite Tigers left-hander Cory Luckie (3-2, 2.55 ERA) on Saturday. And Sunday???s series-finale pits UT sophomore Nick Hernandez (0-1, 4.85 ERA) against Auburn right-hander Bradley Hendrix (1-0, 3.96 ERA).
During his playing days at Western Carolina, Vols head coach Todd Raleigh played against Slater at VMI. And Tigers assistant coach Bill Mosiello was as assistant at Tennessee from 1993-94.
