Robby O’Daniel
Chief Copy Editor

The UT baseball team’s 9-1 demolition of the USC Upstate Spartans on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium provided plenty of Volunteer offense, but one moment would stand out to designated hitter Cody Stubbs — his first career college home run.
The freshman from Waynesville, N.C., entered the game hitting .571 (8-for-14) as the first hitter in an inning during the 2010 season, and when he led off the bottom of the second for the Vols, he stroked an opposite-field homer over the left-field wall.
The left-handed hitter, ranked as one of the top 350 prospects in the country and a projected 2012 first-round draft selection by http://PGCrossChecker.com, said the moment came and went in a haze.
“You always think about what it’s going to be to hit your first home run in college,” Stubbs said. “Of course it was amazing. You really don’t feel anything. You just kind of trot around the bases and get in the dugout, and it was just kind of a blur.”
He said it reminded him that, while the skill level has been amped up with the transition from high school baseball to SEC baseball, he’s still playing ball.
“The game is faster (in college),” Stubbs said. “It absolutely is faster. But it’s baseball, and you just have to get accustomed to the college scene. It just takes maybe a few seconds, but when you step back, you look at it and appreciate it. (It’s the) same game you’ve been playing your whole entire life.”
UT head coach Todd Raleigh said he hoped the home run would help Stubbs put less pressure on himself as an incoming freshman with plenty of high school accomplishments and future expectations.
“He needed that,” Raleigh said. “Kid’s going to be a great, great player. He’s still struggling a little bit, but hopefully that relaxed him a little bit. … I think he’s just been pressing. Freshmen, kids like him who haven’t had a lot of failure before, he’s got to learn how to deal with it. But hopefully that loosens him up a little bit.”
Stubbs said he attempts to temper any frustrations he may experience when he struggles on the field.
“I may have (pressed) a little bit,” Stubbs said. “Just tell myself to calm down and relax and take everything day by day, and I think I’m starting to do a better job at that.”
Still Raleigh’s expectations for Stubbs, who is batting .224, are high.
“I don’t think people realize how good that kid’s going to be,” Raleigh said.
The game featured every Volunteer starting hitter getting at least one hit and seven of those players bringing in at least one run, as the Vols cruised to victory, mostly on the weight of a five-run fourth.
Vols starter Rob Catapano went four innings, giving up one earned run on two walks and four hits. He was relieved by six Vols, who combined for five scoreless innings. Out of those six, only Dylan Hochevar, who pitched the sixth, allowed a baserunner.
The game started at a snail’s pace with a 32-minute first inning. The Spartans went up early 1-0, but the Vols took advantage of two errors in the bottom of the first to bring home two runs, for a lead they would never relinquish.
In the bottom of the fourth, with the Vols up 3-1 after Stubbs’ second-inning blast, the Vols took advantage of two more errors to balloon their lead. Among the hit parade was slugging catcher Blake Forsythe raking an RBI single to bring in outfielder Josh Liles.
But Forsythe’s biggest hit would come later — in the bottom of the eighth — with a home run to left.
Forsythe, who hit .347 with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs a year ago, entered the game at a .200 average with two homers. Out of the team’s nine hitters, Forsythe tied for last in hits, despite starting 17 of the team’s 20 games to that point. His 2-for-5 day with two RBIs improved his average to .215, which Raleigh said was a sign he is coming out of a slump.
Raleigh said UT needs both Liles, who is returning from a quad pull injury, and Forsythe in order to continue on this season.
“We need those guys,” Raleigh said. “We can’t go where we need to go without having those guys do what they did tonight.”