University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
3-1
Grand Canyon
3-3
Vol Baseball Cruises Past Grand Canyon, 25-8
February 27, 2016 | Baseball
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- In Tennessee's Friday night debut in the 2016 Grand Canyon Classic, the Volunteers used an early three-run homer and a nine-run sixth frame to cruise past the Antelopes, 25-8, at Brazell Stadium.
With their 25-8 win, Tennessee posted its largest margin of victory since Feb. 16, 2014 (W, 20-2 vs. Purdue), while their 25 runs scored were also the most for the Orange and White since May 8, 2010 at Georgia (W, 25-5).
Tennessee's offense came out strong against the 'Lopes, with senior Vincent Jackson (2-for-4, 3 RBI) launching a three-run homer in the first inning. Senior Chris Hall (1-for-3, 2 RBI) then led off the third with a stand-up double and scored on a towering fly ball hit to left-center field by Nick Senzel (5-for-7, 6 RBI). RBI-singles from catcher Benito Santiago (3-for-4, RBI and shortstop Max Bartlett (1-for-3, RBI) helped Tennessee put up six runs in the inning and make in a 9-0 advantage for the Vols.
The Volunteers opened their lead even further in the fourth, with the help of a two-out, grand slam home run by first baseman Jordan Rodgers (2-for-5, 5 RBI). The Vols responded again in the fifth and seventh, pushing across four runs to take a 22-8 lead, before senior Derek Lance kick-started UT's bats again in the eighth with an RBI-triple into the right-center gap.
Senior starter Andy Cox threw 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits with five strikeouts for the no-decision. Tennessee saw relief appearances from righthanders Daniel Vasquez (0.1 IP) and Eric Freeman (4.1 IP), who earned his first career win against the 'Lopes. Redshirt freshman Richard Jackson entered in the ninth for UT and retired three of his four batters faced in his collegiate debut.
"I'm very proud of the offense. They're putting together some great at-bats and I thought early in the game, we had some great two-strike at-bats," Head Coach Dave Serrano said.
"I thought Eric Freeman kind of got the momentum back on our side. He got the rhythm and the tempo back and he was a big part of that win, even though the score was so lopsided.
"Some guys had some really big days," Serrano continued. "Now the challenge is to come back tomorrow and play a very good Saint Mary's team. When you put up 25 runs in a game, it's hard to come back and do something special again. So, my challenge to the team was, we've got to get to bed early, get back to this field early and we'll have a big challenge on our hands."
Vol Baseball Quick Hits
- In their first tournament appearance since 2013, the Volunteers improved to a 3-1 all-time record against Grand Canyon.
- Friday's attendance at Brazell Stadium: 1,987
- Vincent Jackson's three-run homer vs. GCU marked his second of the year, his sixth career home run and the second for the Tennessee in 2016.
- With his grand slam home run in the fourth, junior Jordan Rodgers recorded the first grand slam for UT since Andrew Lee at ETSU (April 21, 2015).
- Tennessee Baseball collegiate debuts vs. Grand Canyon: Leno Ramirez, Richard Jackson, Matt Waldren, Sean Skelly and Dominick Cammarata.
- Up Next for the Vols: On Saturday (2/27), sophomore left-hander Zach Warren takes the mound vs. Saint Mary's College junior Johnny York, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
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: Freeman, Eric (1-0)
L: Perez, J. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Moberg, Jeff 1 ; Hall, Chris 1 ; Senzel, Nick 2
3B: Lance, Derek 1
HR: Jackson, Vincent 1 ; Rodgers, Jordan 1
RBI: Moberg, Jeff 1 ; Hall, Chris 2 ; Senzel, Nick 6 ; Jackson, Vincent 3 ; Leftridge, Brodie 1 ; Rodgers, Jordan 5 ; Santiago, Benito 1 ; Bartlett, Max 1 ; Lance, Derek 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Moberg, Jeff 3 ; Hall, Chris 2 ; Waldren, Matt 1 ; Senzel, Nick 3 ; Jackson, Vincent 3 ; Rodgers, Jordan 2 ; Santiago, Benito 2 ; Neal, Daniel 2 ; Bartlett, Max 2 ; Pruett, Jared 2 ; Lance, Derek 3
SB: Santiago, Benito 1
HBP: Hall, Chris 1 ; Rodgers, Jordan 2
Batting:
2B: Schwartz, G. 1 ; Malis, Z. 1 ; Haggerty, M. 1 ; Stierstorfer 1
HR: Panaccione,P 1
RBI: Panaccione,P 3 ; Stierstorfer 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Lerouge, T. 1 ; Panaccione,P 1 ; Schwartz, G. 1 ; Saenz, G. 1 ; Haggerty, M. 1 ; Mauseth, B. 1 ; Stierstorfer 2
