University of Tennessee Athletics
UT falls to Wildcats on Senior Day
May 11, 2008 | Baseball
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? The 22nd-ranked Kentucky baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Tennessee with a 20-5 win Sunday at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Volunteers fell to 25-27 (11-16 SEC) with the loss and have four games remaining in the regular season.
Vols seniors Daniel Beasley, Shawn Griffin and Zane Stone were honored during Senior Day ceremonies before the game, which marked Tennessee???s 2008 home finale. Tennessee posted a 19-13 home record on the year.
Kentucky (38-14, 14-13 SEC) scored multiple runs in five innings Sunday, with three separate five-run frames. The Vols pitching staff also issued nine walks on the day.
???When you give up a lot of big innings it just sucks the life out of you,??? UT head coach Todd Raleigh. ???The hit disparity wasn???t that great (16 to 11), we just didn???t pitch today.???
Stone made his second career start Sunday???his first in Southeastern Conference play???and the Chattanooga, Tenn., native worked 2 1/3 solid innings in which he allowed one run on two hits and struck out two. Included was a strikeout of Kentucky cleanup hitter and National Player of the Year candidate Sawyer Carroll.
Tennessee opened the game???s scoring in the bottom of the second when second baseman Danny Lima crossed the dish on an RBI fielder???s choice by freshman catcher Blake Forsythe. But the Wildcats plated three runs on four hits to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the third.
An RBI double by UT designated hitter Jeff Lockwood was followed by a two-run homer off the bat of third baseman Cody Brown in the bottom of the third, putting Tennessee back on top. Brown then scored on an RBI basehit by Lima to make the score 5-3.
Brown???s go-ahead blast was his eighth homer of the season and the 16th of his career. He led the Vols Sunday with two RBI.
Kentucky countered with a five-run fourth inning, after which the Wildcats led 8-5. The frame was highlighted by a three-run homer by Carroll. And in the top of the fifth, UK piled on five more runs to take a commanding 13-5 lead. The Wildcats sent nine men to the plate Sunday in the third, fourth, fifth and seventh innings.
Cats second baseman Ryan Wilkes and shortstop Chris Wade each homered as part of a five-run seventh for Kentucky. It was UK???s third five-run inning of the day.
Kentucky closed out its scoring with two runs in the top of the ninth. The Wildcats??? 20 runs were the most surrendered by the Vols in a game this season.
Six different pitchers saw action for Tennessee, and the loss went to junior Ty???Relle Harris (2-2). Andrew Albers picked up the win for Kentucky to improve to 7-3 on the season.
The Vols travel to Greenville, S.C., Tuesday to face Furman at ???Fluor Field at the West End??? in a 5 p.m. contest. Tennessee then heads to Columbia, S.C., where it closes out the regular season with a three-game series at South Carolina that runs Thursday through Saturday.
