Vols haven't much room for error against Gators

Defense? Cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Swinging the bats? A few encouraging signs.

Pitching? Keep hanging in there, baby.

"We just don't have a lot of room for mistakes,'' Tennessee baseball coach Todd Raleigh said Thursday.

Raleigh's Vols will test their thin margin for error in a three-game SEC series with Florida, beginning at 7 tonight at Lindsey Nelson Stadium (TV: SportSouth).

One thing Tennessee (17-10, 5-4 SEC) has been getting is decent weekend pitching, and Raleigh hopes that continues against the 13th-ranked Gators (20-7, 7-2).

"That's certainly been our key,'' Raleigh said.

"We've had lapses on defense and we just don't have the guns to blow anybody out. But we have the ability to keep some games close and probably win a couple some people didn't think we could.''

In hopes of maximizing the Vols' strength, Raleigh is shaking up the weekend rotation with his young staff.

Sophomore Nick Hernandez will start tonight, with sophomore Steve Crnkovich moving to Sunday. Freshman Joey Morgado stays in the Saturday slot.

Hernandez (0-0) pitched reasonably well in his past two Sunday starts, at Auburn and Georgia. Crnkovich (4-2), meanwhile, had a rough go in his past two Friday starts.

"Steve gave us unbelievable starts in his first four or five starts,'' Raleigh said. "He's struggled a little bit and Nick has been pitching pretty well.

"I don't think it's a demotion. I don't know if we have that true Friday-night guy anyway. ... We're just mixing it up.''

Like UT, Florida is under new leadership. Coach Kevin O'Sullivan was associate head coach at Clemson before taking over the Gators this season.

O'Sullivan believes in aggressive baseball. The pitchers work fast and base runners are on the move.

The Gators have stolen 55 bases, eclipsing last year's total of 39.

"Their running numbers are ridiculous,'' Raleigh said. "Everything they're doing is based on their running game.

"But that's one of the things we do well. We've been as good as anyone in the nation at shutting that down.''

Tennessee (.477) is the only SEC team allowing opponents less than a .500 success rate stealing bases.

Yan Gomes, UT's top catcher, has thrown out 12 runners and allowed only seven steals.

"We'll see this weekend what kind of matchup that is,'' Raleigh said.

Another pivotal matchup: batted balls and UT's gloves.

The Vols have allowed 51 errors and are at the bottom of the league in fielding percentage. Four errors were a nagging concern in an otherwise impressive victory over No. 18 Charlotte on Wednesday.

"We're not going to win in the SEC making four errors,'' Raleigh said. "But we've been playing a little better defensively on weekends for some reason.

"Yeah, my hair is turning gray but I can't call anybody up from Triple A or Double A.

"We've just got to go out there and battle. It is what it is.''

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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