Tennessee Drives Past Marshall, 7-1

Wednesday, March 22

Knoxville

6:00 PM

University of Tennessee

13-5

Marshall

10-8

Marshall

Tennessee

March 22, 2017 | Baseball

Box Score

March 22, 2017

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's offense combined for five doubles and scored seven unanswered runs to defeat the Marshall Thundering Herd, 7-1, Wednesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

With the win, the Volunteers (13-5, 0-3 SEC) move to 2-0 all-time against Marshall (10-8, 2-1 C-USA) and finished an 11-game homestand on a 7-4 record, dating back to UT's 2017 home opener vs. Norfolk State on March 3.

After starting pitcher Daniel Vasquez retired the first five Marshall (10-8) batters, right fielder Cory Garrastazu hit a two-out double in the second inning. Shane Hanon drove Garrastazu in on a hard hit ball to center field to give the Thundering Herd a 1-0 lead.

One inning later, Max Bartlett and Brodie Leftridge hit back-to-back doubles to tie things up at 1-1. Three batters later, Jordan Rodgers brought Leftridge home from third with a double down the left-field line. Rodgers finished the day 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and his team-high 16th RBI of the season.

The Volunteers added an insurance run in the sixth inning from Pete Derkay on a hard hit ball through Marshall second baseman Will Ray's legs that scored Rodgers for a 3-1 lead.

Tennessee then stretched their lead to 7-1 in the eighth, an inning that featured three hits and three walks, including a gritty, 12-pitch at-bat from Benito Santiago to to walk and load the bases. The Vols next batter, Dom Thornton, ripped a bases-clearing double that would score three.

Out of the bullpen, Connor Darling got his first career win as a Tennessee Volunteer, retiring all six batters faced in 2.0 innings of work. Darling also struck out one batter.

A combination of Kyle Serrano, Will Heflin and Jon Lipinski contributed to UT's 6.0 hitless innings in relief against the Thundering Herd to secure the win.

TENNESSEE QUICK HITS

FRESHMAN PHENOM: Andre Lipcius extended his team high streak of reaching base safely to 18 straight games. Lipcius has reached safely in every game to begin his Tennessee career. With his 1-for-4 performance vs. Marshall, Lipcius has an RBI in each of his last five games, dating back to March 15 against Austin Peay.
REACHING SAFELY: Jordan Rodgers (17), Pete Derkay (12) and Jeff Moberg (11) also extended their streaks of reaching base safely for the Vols.
WINNING WEDNESDAYS: Tennessee continues their winning ways on Wednesdays. With tonight's victory, the Vols move to 3-0 when playing on hump-day.
HOT BATS: Tennessee has accumulated double-digit hits in 12 of 18 games this season. In those 12 games, the Vols finished 11-1 with their lone defeat coming against South Carolina in extra innings (March 18, 2017).
ON DECK FOR THE VOLS: This weekend, Tennessee looks to bounce back in SEC play as they travel to Starkville to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs for a three-game series. First pitch for Friday, March 24 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Wednesday's attendance at Lindsey Nelson Stadium: 1,461