After the Georgia Bulldogs swept the Vols in a 3-game series this past weekend, the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team decided it was time to begin their season again and focus on finding a winning edge once more.
The Vols (10-11) got just what they wanted, defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-16) 7-0 Wednesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The victory ended Tennessee’s 3-game skid and was only its 2nd win in the last 7 games.
“It feels good to be back in the win column,” said Tennessee head baseball coach Dave Serrano. “By no means was it perfect, but we’ve committed to starting our new season, and we’ve started it 1-0.”
Several Vols players echoed Serrano’s sentiments, saying the whole team “hit the reset button” on the season, viewing the first 20 games of the season separately from the remainder of the 2015 season.
“I saw guys who haven’t been involved in the game in the dugout stepping forward and trying to do things to help this team win,” Serrano stated. “We’re committing to nothing but positive energy, positive comments. We’re going away from negativity.
“It’s going to take a full effort to get this ship completely turned around.”
Tennessee held Cincinnati to just three hits on the night and earned its fifth shutout of the season. Freshman starting pitcher Zach Warren earned his 2nd career victory after a 5 inning, one-hit effort where he struck out four batters and walked two others.
The Vols scored early, as first baseman Nathaniel Maggio smacked a 2-run home run in the bottom of the second inning to give the Vols a 2-0 lead. A fielder’s choice and throwing error allowed the Vols to score 2 more runs before the inning ended, giving Warren a 4-0 cushion after just 2 innings.
“The last time I threw against Austin Peay, I had no runs until the last inning before they took me out,” Warren said. “Today it was really good because it helped me relax when I was really tense.”
In the bottom of the fifth, second baseman Nick Senzel ripped a triple to right centerfield that scored 2 Tennessee runners. Maggio would earn his 3rd RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly two at-bats later, giving the Vols a 7-0 advantage.
“We needed this,” Maggio said. “We’re all just trying to relax right now and have fun playing the game.
“Everybody’s just trying to have fun again.”
Senzel, who scored a run while knocking in 2 RBI on 2 hits in 4 at-bats, said the team “came together as a club” after being swept by Georgia.
“All these teammates, we love each other, we’re like brothers,” Senzel stated. “We have to get things back on the right track, and tonight was a small step.”
The Vols will face the defending National Champions this weekend when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville. Tennessee’s new season may have started off 1-0, but keeping that momentum will require a team effort against one of the SEC’s best teams.
“We know what we’re up against, we know the hole we’ve put ourselves in,” Serrano stated. “We just have a feeling right now that when we get this thing turned around, we’re going to feel really good about it.”
