University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Florida
Tennessee Falls to Florida, 7-5
March 22, 2009 | Baseball
March 22, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Left fielder Avery Barnes' RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh led Florida to a 7-5 victory over Tennessee on Sunday afternoon at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. With the win, Florida (14-7, 3-3 SEC) completed the weekend sweep of the Vols, its first sweep of Tennessee since they achieved the same feat in 2003.
The Volunteers (9-12, 1-5 SEC) had a 4-1 lead heading into the third inning but the Gators scored a run in the third and two in the fifth and seventh innings to pick up their 14th victory of the season. Three of Florida's last three runs were scored without the benefit of a hit.
First baseman Cody Hawn and shortstop Zach Osborne combined for three hits and three of Tennessee's four RBIs. Catcher Blake Forsythe hit his 10th home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning. Forsythe finished the series 5-for-11 (.455) with a double, triple and a home run.
Junior Aaron Tullo (1-2) pitched 2-1/3 innings while surrendering two runs on two hits and recording four strike outs.
Right-hander Greg Larson (1-0) held the Vols scoreless for 1-1/3 innings. Larson gave up three hits and struck out one.
Tennessee left 25 runners on base during the three-game series and went 3-for-28 (.107) at the plate with runners in scoring position.
UT took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Hawn drove a RBI double down the left field line to score right fielder Josh Liles. Liles reached on a throwing error to lead off the game.
The Volunteers added two more runs in the second inning to make the score 3-0. Osborne doubled down the right-field line to drive home Cody Grisham and Mike Hornsby. Grisham and Hornsby singled back-to-back with one out in the inning.
Florida cut the Vols' lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, third baseman Clayton Pisani grounded into a double play, scoring catcher Buddy Munroe from third.
Tennessee scored an unearned run in the third to take a 4-1 lead. With Charley Thurber on first, Grisham hit a sacrifice bunt toward Pisani. First baseman Teddy Foster could not come up with the throw from Pisani, allowing Thurber to score from first and Grisham to reach third.
The Gators added a run in the bottom of the third to make the score 4-2. Barnes drove in center fielder Matt den Dekker with an RBI single to center field.
Florida tied the game at 4-4 with two runs in the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs in the inning, Tullo took over for starter Bryan Morgado. Tullo hit the first batter that he faced, sending den Dekker home from third. Shortstop Josh Adams later scored on a wild pitch.
UF scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 6-4 lead over UT. First baseman Preston Tucker followed Barnes' triple with an RBI single up the middle to score Barnes and give the Gators a two-run advantage. The Gators added a single run in the eighth.
Morgado went four innings in his fourth start of the year for Tennessee. The sophomore gave up four runs on six hits while walking a season-high five batters and striking out three. Freshman Will Locante faced one batter and gave up a hit before being replace by senior Ty'Relle Harris. Harris pitched the final 1-2/3 innings of the game.
Florida starter Patrick Keating lasted 2-1/3 innings, surrendering four runs (two earned) on four hits while issuing three walks. Alex Panteliodis, Tony Davis and Bill Bullock pitched out of the UF bullpen.
The Volunteers return home to Lindsey Nelson Stadium to play Western Carolina on Tuesday followed by North Carolina-Asheville on Wednesday. First pitch for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern time.
