University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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Memphis
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Vol Baseball Drops Game Two vs. Memphis, 13-8
February 20, 2016 | Baseball
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- In Game Two of Tennessee's season opener series with Memphis at AT&T Field, the Volunteers fought their way back from an early 11-run deficit but dropped a 13-8 decision as the Tigers evened the series at 1-1 in Chattanooga.
With the score tied at 0-0 in the fourth inning, Memphis took advantage of a two-out, defensive miscue at first base by UT and put together a streak of five consecutive walks from the Vols' pitching staff to take a 5-0 lead. The Tigers later put up six runs in the sixth to extend their lead to 11-0. Despite the Memphis advantage, Tennessee chipped away at the lead and collected nine hits after the fifth inning.
Right-handed junior Kyle Serrano worked 3.2 innings on the hill for the Vols, allowing one earned run with three strikeouts and granting four free passes to the Tigers. Sophomore lefty Aaron Soto then entered in the fourth for Serrano and tossed 1.2 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits. Senior Steven Kane and lefty Zach Reid were later called upon in relief before true freshman Daniel Vasquez (0.2 IP) made his collegiate debut in the ninth, striking out his first batter faced.
Offensively, Tennessee put runners in scoring position on three occasions in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames. The Vols continued to battle at the plate and in the sixth, they put up three runs following singles by seniors Jeff Moberg (2-for-4, 2R), Vincent Jackson (2-for-5, RBI) and third baseman Nick Senzel (3-for-5, 2 RBI). A two-run double by Jordan Rodgers in that frame gave the Vols their first runs on the day. In the next at-bat, a perfectly-executed bunt single by catcher Benito Santiago (2-for-4, RBI) made it an 11-3 ballgame.
The Volunteers scratched another crooked number on the board in the seventh, thanks to a leadoff single by Derek Lance (1-for-3, 2 R) and an RBI-triple from senior right fielder Chris Hall (2-for-4, 2 RBI). UT pushed four more runs across by the bottom of the ninth, but the Vols ultimately came up short in the 13-8 final.
"What I said to the team was, I'm disappointed that we lost, but the effort was there," Head Coach Dave Serrano said. "I talk to these guys about effort and competitiveness and I can't go back and be disappointed about that. It was the physical things that we did. I think from a pitching standpoint and a defensive standpoint, we gave them too much stuff.
"It was about finishing the job. We fought back as a team, offensively, and we didn't quit. We were down 11-0 at one point and nobody wanted to see that, but we made it a game at the end. I can go back and leave this field knowing that we have some fight, and I knew we did. Now, if we can clean up some of the physical stuff, things will fall into place for us more times than not."
Vol Baseball Tidbits
- With the loss, Tennessee moves to 14-20 in their all-time series vs. Memphis.
- Saturday's attendance at AT&T Field: 1,765
- Up Next for the Vols: On Sunday, Feb. 21, Tennessee lefty Zach Warren gets the nod in the series finale vs. Memphis senior Matt Ferguson at 1 p.m. ET at AT&T Field, home of the Chattanooga Lookouts.
For more information on Tennessee Baseball, follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter or visit UTSports.com/Baseball. You can also 'Like' the Vols at Facebook at www.facebook.com/volbaseball.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ALEXANDER, Connor (1-0)
L: Serrano, Kyle (0-1)
Batting:
2B: BOWMAN, Andy 1 ; OVERBEY, Jake 1
3B: TUBBS, Darien 1
RBI: TUBBS, Darien 2 ; SCHRITENTHAL, Zach 1 ; CHAFIN, Corey 2 ; GRUDZIELANEK,Brandon 2 ; BOWMAN, Andy 2 ; OVERBEY, Jake 1
SH: CHAFIN, Corey 1
SF: SCHRITENTHAL, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TUBBS, Darien 2 ; SCHRITENTHAL, Zach 1 ; CARRIER, Chris 2 ; CHAFIN, Corey 1 ; GRUDZIELANEK,Brandon 1 ; BOWMAN, Andy 1 ; TURNER,Trent 1 ; LITTLE, Jake 2 ; OVERBEY, Jake 2
HBP: SCHRITENTHAL, Zach 1
Batting:
2B: Moberg, Jeff 1 ; Rodgers, Jordan 1 ; Lance, Derek 1
3B: Hall, Chris 1
RBI: Hall, Chris 2 ; Senzel, Nick 2 ; Jackson, Vincent 1 ; Rodgers, Jordan 2 ; Santiago, Benito 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Moberg, Jeff 2 ; Hall, Chris 1 ; Senzel, Nick 2 ; Jackson, Vincent 1 ; Lance, Derek 2
HBP: Hall, Chris 1
PO: Senzel, Nick 1
