University of Tennessee Athletics
Forsythe, Liles and Hernandez enjoy summer league success
August 14, 2008 | Baseball
Aug. 14, 2008
Tennessee rising sophomores Blake Forsythe and Josh Liles were key contributors to the Thomasville HiToms third consecutive championship run in the Coastal Plain League Petitt Cup Tournament.
Forsythe showcased his power at the plate throughout the summer and led the HiToms, based in Thomasville, N.C., with 10 home runs. That total ranked second in the league. The catcher from Memphis, Tenn., drove in 27 runs on 35 hits while batting .238 in 44 games played. He also threw out 35 percent of potential base-stealers.
Liles, an outfielder from Jackson, Tenn., joined the HiToms for the second half of the summer and hit .270 with 30 hits, two home runs and 14 RBI in 27 games. He also was 8-for-11 on stolen-base attempts.
The UT duo combined to record two hits and two runs while providing outstanding defensive play in the HiToms 7-4 Petit Cup final win over the Florence Red Wolves.
HERNANDEZ TO START IN CAPE COD LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES THURSDAY NIGHT
Tennessee baseball pitcher Nick Hernandez is set to start on the mound Thursday for the Cotuit Kettleers in game two of the Cape Cod Baseball League's championship series. The Kettleers fell to the Harwich Mariners 11-2 on Wednesday in the first game of the series. First pitch for Thursday's contest is set for 7 p.m. ET at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass.
A Cotuit loss on Thursday would make Harwich the league's 2008 champion. However, a win by Hernandez and the Kettleers would force a decisive third game. That contest, if necessary, would take place Friday at 3 p.m. ET in Cotuit.
Hernandez, a rising junior from Hialeah, Fla., is the lone returning Vol active in the famous 114-year-old Cape Cod League this summer. During the Cape's regular season, the left-hander posted a 6-3 record with a 2.54 ERA in nine starts spanning 56 2/3 innings. He struck out 48 batters while issuing only 13 walks.
He won his only previous playoff start, allowing two runs (one earned) through six innings with eight strikeouts and one walk against Falmouth on Saturday.
As a sophomore for the Vols this past spring, Hernandez started 13 games and ranked fifth among all NCAA Division I pitchers with 0.97 walks per nine innings.
