University of Tennessee Athletics
Vanderbilt Hands Vols 8-5 Opening Loss
May 02, 2008 | Baseball
Box Score??|??Box Score (PDF)????
KNOXVILLE ??? For seven innings Friday, the Tennessee baseball team had no answer for Vanderbilt pitcher Mike Minor as the sophomore led the 13th-ranked Commodores to an 8-5 win in the series-opener between the two clubs at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Minor held the Vols (25-21, 11-11 SEC) scoreless through seven innings before UT rallied late. The left-hander allowed five runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts through 8 2/3 innings. He improved to 5-3 with the win, and VU closer Brett Jacobson entered the game to record the final out and log his third save of the season.
Tennessee???s three-run eighth proved to be too little, too late, although it did spoil Minor???s shutout bid. The Vols??? first run came off a solo homer by freshman left fielder P.J. Polk. It was the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native???s third longball of the season and just the third hit surrendered by Minor in the game. The next hit Minor served up was a two-run blast by freshman right fielder Josh Liles???giving the Jackson, Tenn., native six home runs on the year.
The Vols capped their scoring with a two-run double by junior designated hitter Jarred Frazier in the ninth.
Vanderbilt (32-13, 12-9 SEC) struck early Friday when shortstop Ryan Flaherty belted a three-run homer in the top of the first inning. The Commodores built on their lead in the third when centerfielder David Macias reached on a leadoff single, took second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a balk and then scored on an infield error.
An RBI double by Macias in the fourth put the Vols at a five-run disadvantage. Minor, meanwhile, continued to cruise. After giving up a leadoff single to Vols second baseman Andy Simunic in the bottom of the first, the left-hander held Tennessee hitless through the next four frames.
Vols first baseman Danny Lima gave UT its second hit of the night when he led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to left-center, but Minor retired the next three batters in order to keep his shutout intact through five full innings.
Vanderbilt put runners on the corners with no outs in the top of the sixth and then used RBI doubles by Macias and left fielder Steven Liddle to stretch its lead to eight runs. Macias finished the night 4-for-4 with two runs and three RBI.
Tennessee starting pitcher Nick Hernandez fell to 1-4 with the loss. The sophomore was touched for eight runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and no walks through six innings. Hernandez has not issued a walk in his last 26 1/3 innings pitched, and he has just seven walks in 67 2/3 total innings this season.
UT reliever Steve Crnkovich kept the Commodores off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth, and junior D.J. Leffler came on to pitch a perfect ninth.
Vols catcher Yan Gomes did not record a hit Friday, bringing an end to his career-best 17-game hit streak. It was the longest hit streak by a Vol since 2002.
The series resumes Saturday at 4 p.m. ET, with redshirt freshman Bryan Morgado (5-2, 3.20 ERA) starting on the mound for Tennessee opposite Vanderbilt freshman right-hander Caleb Cotham (6-3, 3.77 ERA).
Saturday???s game will be televised regionally on FSN South as the ???SEC Game of the Week,??? and it also will be broadcast on XM Satellite Radio channel 199.
