University of Tennessee
Georgia
Vols Drop Series Finale to Georgia, 10-4
March 22, 2015 | Baseball
March 22, 2015
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Volunteers fought to overcome an early Georgia lead in the series finale, but untimely Vol errors allowed the Bulldogs to pull away with a 10-4 win on Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
With the loss, Tennessee (9-11) drops to 1-5 in SEC competition, while Georgia (15-9) moves to 3-3 in conference play on the year.
Georgia got out to a two-run lead by the second inning, with leadoff man Stephen Wrenn and designated hitter Daniel Nichols each hitting solo home runs to right field off of UT starter Kyle Serrano. Fielding errors again plagued the Volunteers on Sunday, as Georgia put four more runs across in the third due to misplays by Serrano, second baseman Nick Senzel and a passed ball by catcher Benito Santiago.
"When negative things are happening we're not getting a stop to it," Head Coach Dave Serrano said. "That's why we're 9-11 right now and a team that's scuffling and a team that's searching for answers.Those people that have doubts about us can continue to have doubts. We're going to turn this thing around."
The Volunteers scattered nine hits on Georgia, led by left fielder Christin Stewart (1-for-2, 2B, RBI), second baseman Senzel (2-for-4), designated hitter Andrew Lee (2-for-4, RBI) and first baseman Nathaniel Maggio (1-for-3, RBI). Tennessee's bats warmed up in the fourth as Senzel began the frame with a standup double down the right field line. Lee knocked a single to left and moved Senzel to third before Maggio put one through the left side of the infield. Senzel came across to score for Tennessee and make it a 6-1 Georgia lead.
The Orange and White fought back again in the sixth with shortstop A.J. Simcox leading off the frame with a triple over the head of UGA center fielder Wrenn. Stewart then ripped an RBI-double to right field, scoring Simcox to narrow Georgia's lead to 6-2.
The Vols went for a late rally in the eighth, as Stewart walked and came around to score on base hits from Senzel and Lee, making it a 9-3 ballgame in favor of the Bulldogs.
Despite Tennessee's effort to chip away at the deficit, including an RBI-single from outfielder Vincent Jackson in the ninth, Georgia went on to score four additional runs to further the lead to 10-4.
Starter Kyle Serrano (1-3) went 2.1 innings, allowing six runs (two earned) on four hits to receive the loss.
Righthander Hunter Martin went to the hill for Tennessee in the third, relieving Serrano with bases loaded and one out. Martin got out of the jam and went on to toss 4.1 innings in relief, allowing one run on two hits while striking out three batters. From the third through the seventh innings, Martin retired 12 straight batters.
"Today was the best I've felt since the fall," Martin said. "I was confident out there for the first time in a while and I really just carried that. I think right now it's just keep believing in each other, keep believing in ourselves. When we get that figured out, we'll be fine."
Lee later moved to the mound for the Vols in the eighth, replacing Martin to finish the game.
"There will never be a quit. We have 35 games still remaining," Serrano said. "We can continue to dwell on the negative that's happened or we could let the past go because we can't do anything about it and only look forward to the opportunity and how good it's going to feel when we get this thing completely turned around."
On Wednesday, March 25, Tennessee hosts Cincinnati for a 7 p.m. ET matchup at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, marking the Vols' first game to be broadcast live on SEC Network this season.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee baseball, visit UTSports.com/Baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.
