University of Tennessee Athletics
Griffin's 3-run HR powers Vols to series win
April 13, 2008 | Baseball
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? Shawn Griffin???s go-ahead three-run homer highlighted a four-run eighth inning that the Tennessee baseball team rode to a 6-4 series-clinching win over Alabama Sunday at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee (22-13, 9-6 SEC) under first-year head coach Todd Raleigh has now won each of its three home SEC series on the year and is 7-2 at home against league opponents. The Vols??? overall home record sits at a healthy 18-4.
Picked in the preseason by the SEC head coaches to finish last in the overall conference race, Tennessee is now assured of at least tying for the third-best conference record at the halfway point of SEC play.
???I felt like we had things going (all day) but we couldn???t capitalize,??? Raleigh said. ???It???s just typical of our team???never giving up. Even when we don???t (come back to win a game), we always give ourselves a chance. Today we came through.???
Tennessee junior Ty???Relle Harris matched his longest career outing by pitching seven full innings in which he allowed four runs on 11 hits with four walks and a career-high seven strikeouts. The right-hander from Fairfield, Calif., earned a no-decision, however, as the win was credited to fellow junior Joey Rosas.??
The teams combined for 10 home runs in the first two games of the series, and they added three more longballs Sunday. Alabama left fielder Brandon May hit a solo shot in the top of the second inning to give the Tide an early lead.
The Vols used a well-executed double-steal to plate their first run in the bottom of the second inning. Senior second baseman Andy Simunic successfully swiped second as fellow senior Griffin stole home. Tennessee shortstop Danny Lima laced an RBI basehit up the middle shortly thereafter to bring home Simunic and put the Vols up 2-1.
Alabama (20-17, 6-9 SEC) stranded a pair of runners in both the third and fourth innings but capitalized in the fifth while taking a 3-2 lead. Designated hitter Alex Avila tied the game with an RBI basehit, and another Tide runner crossed on an RBI groundout by Matt Bentley.
Avila later pushed the Tide???s lead to two runs in the seventh with a line-drive solo home run. Alabama mounted a bases-loaded threat later in the inning, but Harris got Tide second baseman Ross Wilson to look at strike three and prevent any further damage.
Prior to Griffin???s mammoth three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, Vols catcher Yan Gomes led off with a single, and third baseman Cody Brown followed with a base on balls. Griffin???s go-ahead homer was his team-best eighth of the season and the 14th of his career.
Alabama starting pitcher Miers Quigley was chased from the game later in the eighth with one out, and Tide closer Josh Copeland entered with a man on first. The Vols eventually managed runners on the corners with two outs, setting the stage for an RBI single through the right side of the Alabama infield by UT centerfielder Kentrail Davis to put the Vols up by two.
Rosas worked the final two innings for UT, allowing no runs on one hit with three strikeouts. Quigley took the loss for Alabama to fall to 4-2 on the year.
Davis was UT???s top hitter in the series, batting .462 (6-for-13) with two home runs and six RBI. Nine different Vols logged multiple hits in the series as Tennessee hit .352 as a team.
Tennessee hits the road Tuesday for a 6 p.m. CT game against Middle Tennessee at Gamble Sports Complex in Winchester, Tenn. The game was originally slated to take place in Murfreesboro, Tenn., but was moved due to ongoing construction at the Blue Raiders??? home facility.
