The weekend series at South Carolina was one that the Diamond Vols would like to forget, as the Gamecocks (16-4, 3-0 SEC) swept the UT baseball team (10-10, 0-3), winning all three games.
In the first game of the series, the Vols put junior pitcher Bryan Morgado on the mound. Despite the loss, Morgado continued to show why he is the ace of the Vols\’ rotation.
“It\’s a tough loss,” Morgado said on Friday. “I made pitches when it mattered and forced double plays. My team played great defense behind me. I couldn\’t be prouder of them defensively. So it\’s a tough loss.”
Morgado pitched seven innings allowing three hits, two earned runs and two strikeouts.
UT head coach Todd Raleigh said a major factor in the loss was the Vols\’ inability to capitalize on opportunities to hit with runners in scoring position.
“When you have the bases loaded and nobody out, you have to score,” Raleigh said. “Those runs come back to haunt you, and we didn\’t get it done. Winning comes down to three things: good pitching, good hitting and timely hitting.”
In game two, there was much more offense than the previous day for both teams, but the Vols dropped the contest, 10-7. If there were any positives to take from the loss, it was the Vols’ ability to start a rally when facing a five-run deficit.
“I\’m happy about how we battled back in it,” Raleigh said. “To battle down from 5-0 and tie it back up was pretty good.”
One of the main contributors to the Vols\’ comeback rally was junior first baseman Cody Hawn. The preseason All-American selection went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, including a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. Despite his numbers, Hawn admitted it was difficult coming out with a loss.
“It is frustrating, but that\’s SEC baseball,” Hawn said. “They got runners on, and they did what they had to do.”
Hawn also spoke of a necessity for the Vols\’ bats to wake up early, rather than keep creating comeback opportunities for themselves.
“We did a good job to battle back,” he said. “But we need to jump on our opponents and hopefully get going early in the game.”
The negatives taken from the game all start with pitching. The Vols bullpen was responsible for nine of the 10 runs allowed after an early exit of starting pitcher Aaron Tullo, who lasted a third of an inning.
“We uncharacteristically walked a lot of guys tonight,” Raleigh said after UT’s pitching combined for nine walks. “We were pitching behind a lot and walked nine and hit a couple. You just can\’t do that.”
In game three, it seemed as though the South Carolina rain put out the Vols\’ hot bats from the previous day. Junior center fielder P.J. Folk was responsible for the Vols’ lone hit in the 4-0 loss on Sunday. Much like the opening game, the series finale would show a UT team with effective starting pitching combined with a lack of run support. Senior Stephen McCray only allowed one run and four hits in his 5.2 innings of work.
“Stephen gave us a quality start,” Raleigh said. “One run in six innings is a quality start, and we just couldn\’t scratch anything today.”
Despite the lack of hits, the Vols were given opportunities to capitalize with runners in scoring position. However, they failed to overcome the Gamecocks’ solid defensive play.
“(South Carolina) made a couple of good plays,” Raleigh said. “The turning point of the game was the double play on the slash down the line that looked like a potential double. Rather than two runs in, we got nothing, so it\’s a tough.”
The Vols will host USC Upstate on Tuesday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium before hosting a three-game home series against the defending national champions, the LSU Tigers.
