University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Alabama State
Vols Fall to Hornets, 3-0
April 27, 2016 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After threatening in the first inning of the Wednesday night matchup at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Tennessee fell behind Alabama State, 3-0. The Volunteers put runners on base in all but two innings, but were unable to string together a series of hits to push a run across.
With the loss, Tennessee moves to 24-18 (6-12 SEC) on the year while the Hornets are now 28-14 (18-0 SWAC).
Tennessee threatened in the first, loading the bases. With one out, Chris Hall advanced to first base after being hit by a pitch. In the next at-bat, Nick Senzel (1-for-4) singled to center field, advancing Hall to second. Vincent Jackson (2-for-3) then reached first on the second hit-by-pitch of the game to load the bases; however, the inning ended following a caught foul ball and strikeout.
To start the second frame, Alabama State led off with a double to left. ALST third baseman Ray Hernandez then advanced to first after being hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. In the next at-bat, shortstop Eriq White singled to center, scoring the leadoff runner. The Hornets went on to plate two more runs in the inning to jump out to a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, senior Derek Lance (3-for-3) singled through the right side to put a runner on first for the Vols. Jared Pruett then sent a hard hit to ALST's shortstop, who made a late throw to second allowing Lance to advance safely. Pruett was thrown out at first on the play for the first out. Two more consecutive outs ended the inning for Tennessee.
"You look at Derek Lance, he just keeps grinding out at-bats," Head Coach Dave Serrano said. "He'll take a bad swing but he'll put it past him and he'll just fight and take a good at-bat. The balls are finding some holes for him. We need more guys like that."
The Volunteers proceeded to put runners in scoring position three more times during the sixth, seventh and ninth innings but were unable to score.
Entering the game to start the fifth inning, righty Daniel Vasquez struck out his first two batters faced. He went on to retire 12 of 17 Alabama State batters in 5.0 innings of scoreless relief. Vasquez gave up just two hits and struck out two batters in the appearance.
In his fourth start of the season, freshman Alex Harper-Cook tossed 4.0 innings. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out a career-high six batters.
Vol Baseball Quick Hits
- With the loss, Tennessee moves to 0-1 after the first-ever meeting with Alabama State.
- Alex Harper-Cook worked 4.0 innings, tying his longest career start. With the loss, he now owns a 1-1 record.
- With his two hits versus the Hornets, Vincent Jackson (2-for-3) now has a team-leading 18 multi-hit games this season.
- Wednesday's attendance at Lindsey Nelson Stadium: 1,274
- On Deck for the Vols: The Volunteers travel to Columbia, Missouri to face conference rival Mizzou for a weekend series on Friday, April 29 - Sunday, May 1 at Taylor Stadium.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee Baseball, visit UTSports.com/Baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.
