Adams: Pitching quandary just starting for UT

Routine prevailed Friday. Delmonico started Luke Hochevar, UT's leadoff pitcher throughout season.

But there was nothing routine about Hochevar's performance at Rosenblatt Stadium. He struggled from his first batter to his last in a 6-4 loss to archrival Florida that jettisoned the Vols to the dreaded losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

The Vols didn't just lose a game. They lost their biggest advantage against the CWS field.

Other teams might have more pitching depth, but the Vols have the one-two pitching punch of Hochevar and Adkins. Depth matters more in the losers' bracket.

"I should have listened to myself, shouldn't I?" Delmonico said when asked about his choice of pitchers.

"I went back and forth with it," he said. "You could have made an argument for either one (Hochevar or Adkins)."

Delmonico didn't sound so uncertain Thursday. He explained to the media why he would start Adkins instead of Hochevar, who leads the SEC in victories, strikeouts and innings pitched.

Adkins has been the better pitcher in postseason, Delmonico said. Moreover, he liked matching the left-handed Adkins against Florida's left-handed hitters.

You couldn't help but wonder at the time: "Was this gamesmanship (a popular sports euphemism for lying)? If so, what was the point?"

The decision impacted the Gators preparation, rather than their performance. After their pregame meal Friday, they watched videotape of Adkins.

"But we studied all of their pitchers all week," Florida coach Pat McMahon said.

If McMahon thought Delmonico had attempted to deceive the Gators, he didn't say so. He just smiled.

"Different coaches handle things differently," he said. "If I'm not sure (about his starter), I'm going to name two guys and say, 'this guy or that guy.' That's the way I would do it."

The way Delmonico put it, there was no deception, just indecisiveness.

"We talked about it last night and made it official (Friday) morning," he said. "It came down to my heart. (Hochevar has) been a warrior all year. Why mess it up?"

That raises another question: Could the uncertainty mess up his pitcher's preparation?

Not according to Hochevar, who said, "I prepared like I was going to start."

His execution wasn't as typical as his preparation. He walked six batters, gave up eight hits and two home runs as the Vols fell behind 6-1 in the first six innings.

"Maybe one out of every four times, you have your best stuff and you can cruise," Hochevar said. "Regardless, you can still focus and keep pitching. I felt like I competed my tail off and laid it on the line but that wasn't good enough."

Delmonico blamed Hochevar's downfall on a faulty slider.

"His fastball was good," Delmonico said. "I thought he had a good changeup, and his curveball was good.

"The only thing he didn't have was his slider. He teased us with it. He'd throw a good one, then a bad one. Or he would throw two good ones and a bad one."

Two of the bad ones turned into home runs - one in the third inning by Mike LaPorta, another in the sixth by Brian Jeroloman.

The Vols didn't have enough offense or defense to overcome Hochevar's wayward slider. They left 12 runners on base and committed two costly errors.

Nonetheless, Delmonico seemed optimistic that his team could bounce back from the opening loss.

"We're probably more of a blue-collar team," he said. "When our backs are against the wall, we'll work and battle."

They will begin their CWS comeback Sunday afternoon. Adkins is scheduled to start.