University of Tennessee Athletics
Brown's slam not enough as Vols fall
April 15, 2008 | Baseball
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WINCHESTER, Tenn. ??? A Cody Brown grand slam gave the 30th-ranked Tennessee baseball team an early four-run lead over Middle Tennessee Tuesday, but the Blue Raiders lit up the Volunteers bullpen for 10 runs while handing UT a 13-6 loss at Loel E. Bennett Stadium at Gamble Sports Complex.
Brown, Tennessee???s junior third baseman, put the Vols up 5-0 with his third-inning grand slam. But the Blue Raiders (19-14-1) countered with 13 unanswered runs to extend their win streak to six games. The 18 hits surrendered by UT marked a season-high.
Brown and Vols catcher Yan Gomes each accounted for two of Tennessee???s seven total hits. The Vols committed three errors, while MTSU had a pair of miscues.
The teams worked through a pair of scoreless innings Tuesday before Gomes opened the game???s scoring with an RBI single in the third to drive in designated hitter P.J. Polk, who led off the frame with a double.
The Vols (22-14) loaded the bases later in the third with one out, setting up Brown???s second career grand slam. The Knoxville, Tenn., native belted a walk-off grand slam on March 18 of last season against Siena at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Tuesday???s longball was Brown???s fifth homer of the season and the 14th of his career.
Middle Tennessee used four consecutive one-out doubles to cut into the Volunteers??? lead in the bottom of the third. Rawley Bishop???s two-bagger drove in one run, and two more runners crossed on a double by Zach Dean.
Bryce Brentz logged a pinch-hit RBI fielder???s choice for the Raiders in the bottom of the fifth to make it a one-run game, and Middle Tennessee would overtake the lead with back-to-back RBI basehits, a run-scoring wild pitch and a two-run homer later in the inning. Blake McDade sent a two-run blast over the wall in dead-center to put the Raiders up by a score of 9-5.
All told, Middle Tennessee???s six-run fifth inning saw the Raiders collect six hits and send 10 batters to the plate.
The Vols had the tying run at the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the sixth but were unable to capitalize against Raiders reliever Brad Robinson, who went on to earn the win and improve to 3-2 on the year.
MTSU shortstop Tyler Burnett and Brentz led off the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back solo homers, stretching the Blue Raiders??? lead to six runs, 11-5. And Bishop added a two-out solo shot in the seventh.
McDade logged an RBI groundout in the eighth, and an RBI groundout by Vols sophomore Jeff Lockwood in the top of the ninth brought the final score to 13-6.
Vols junior D.J. Leffler absorbed the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year.
Tennessee now leads the all-time series with Middle Tennessee 27-17, dating to 1926. The teams split this year???s two-game series, as UT posted a 5-3 win on March 11 in Knoxville.
The Vols travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for a three-game Southeastern Conference series against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
