University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Alabama
Alabama Defeats Tennessee At Hormel Foods Classic
March 01, 2002 | Baseball
March 1, 2002
Minneapolis -- The No. 20 Alabama Crimson Tide extended their perfect start to the season as they defeated the Tennessee Volunteers, 9-0, in the first game of the Hormel Foods Classic at the Metrodome.
The 10-0 start by the Tide matches their best beginning since the 1998 season, while the Vols (4-9) dropped their second straight and fourth in the last five. It was also the second shutout in the last four games suffered by Tennessee.
After giving up four runs on six hits in the first inning, Jeffery Terrell (1-2) settled down over the next four innings, allowing just three hits and retiring nine straight at one point. He ran into trouble again in the later innings and would give up nine runs on 15 hits in 7 2/3 innings of work.
The hits allowed by Terrell tied the school record set jointly by R.A. Dickey against in the 1995 College World Series against Cal State Fullerton and Allen Halliday versus Mississippi State in the 1989 Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Beau Massey closed the game with 1 1/3 shutout innings.
Alabama took control from the start as it jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first by pounding out six hits. The first four hitters all collected safeties and only a sacrifice fly by Jeremy Brown prevented the first seven hitters from reaching safely.
The Tide then got a single run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly before Brent Boyd's two-run home run put the game out of reach in the seventh, 7-0.
They added two more in the eighth on a Scott McClanahan double and a wild pitch for the 9-0 margin.
Lance Cormier (4-0) worked to near perfection as he kept the Vols off balance for eight innings. After being touched for five hits in the first six innings, including three by Nick Crowe, Cormier also got into his groove as he finished with a career-best 11 strikeouts and one hit batter.
Eric Mennen pitched the ninth for the Tide.
Aside from Crowe's three hits, Hal Bibee Jr. added two more to lead the Vols who had eight. Joey Andrews collected his first career hit in the ninth.
Boyd, McClanahan and Travis Garner each had three hits each while, Carlos Sosa and Grant Redding also collected two hits apiece for Alabama, which finished with a season-high 15.
Tennessee's first scoring opportunity came in the first when it left two runners stranded at second and third with no outs. The Vols would not get another runner in scoring position until the ninth.
The Vols play the Florida Atlantic Blue Wave, Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
