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They call him Hollywood for a reason.

It's a nickname that works on a couple of different levels for University of Tennessee outfielder Shawn Griffin.

"That started about this time last year at LSU," Griffin said. "I was playing the outfield and one of the fans saw I was from Hollywood (Fla.) and I guess they thought it was California.

"They kept calling me movie star. Some of the parents heard that, thought it was funny and they've called me Hollywood ever since."

It fits, especially the way Griffin has shown a flair for drama in recent weeks.

The senior goes into tonight's series opener against Alabama as one of the hottest hitters in the SEC.

He just hopes it continues as the Vols (20-12, 7-5 SEC) welcome the Crimson Tide (19-15, 5-7) to Lindsey Nelson Stadium with 7 p.m. games tonight and Saturday, and a 2 p.m. finale Sunday.

"It's always fun when you're hitting the ball well," Griffin said, "but baseball is the most frustrating game ever.

"About two weeks ago, I hated it. Now I'm in love with it again. I'm having a blast."

He's also hitting some blasts.

People in Auburn started calling him "The Natural" after he hit a home run off the lights against the Tigers. Then he went out and did the exact same thing again at Lindsey Nelson Stadium last week against Florida, bouncing a homer off the lights in right field.

On Tuesday against Austin Peay, Griffin took a curtain call with a mammoth three-run blast to give UT a 12-11 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning.

"Some of the guys on the team have been giving me a hard time because you can usually find me in the cage at around 12 or 1 o'clock in the morning just hitting off the machine and getting some extra swings in," Griffin said. "I really feel like that has been helping me see the ball to sit back and drive it."

Something's working.

Griffin earned SEC player of the week honors after going 8-for-12 with three homers and two doubles in the series victory against Florida. He followed that with a two-homer night against Austin Peay.

"He's on fire," UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "Every time he's up I feel like he has a chance to get a big hit. He has carried us lately."

For the season, Griffin leads the Vols with his .364 average and seven home runs. He has six doubles, 24 RBIs and a team-high slugging percentage of .636.

Griffin and UT freshman center fielder Kentrail Davis have turned recent hot streaks into a friendly, back-and-forth competition.

Davis (.360, six homers, 28 RBIs) had to hear Griffin talk about taking back the team home run lead after his second home run against Austin Peay. Davis also had two solo shots in that game.

"He just caught up with me in the last week and he told me he was taking the lead and that I would stay behind him," Davis joked. "I said all right, we'll see about that. I'm happy for him, but I'll take it as a challenge. I'm going after him."

With Griffin, Davis and the sophomore combo of Yan Gomes (.314, four HRS, 21 RBIs) and Jeff Lockwood (.303, four HRs, 20 RBIs) coming on strong, offense has been the least of UT's worries of late.

Pitching and pitching depth is a different story.

Junior reliever Aaron Everett (3-2, two saves, 3.00 ERA) will require surgery and is out for the season after sustaining an elbow injury against Florida on Sunday.

Danny Wiltz, another junior reliever, is listed as day-to-day with a triceps strain. Junior third baseman Cody Brown is also day-to-day with a strained calf muscle.

"Losing Everett was huge, but we're just going to have to have someone else step up and fill in his shoes - big shoes," Griffin said.

The pressure ratchets up a notch for starters Nick Hernandez and Bryan Morgado to have solid, long outings against the Tide. UT's starter for Sunday is to be determined after recent struggles of sophomore transfer Steve Crnkovich.

"(Hernandez and Morgado) have been unreal," Griffin said. "I think they've gone at least six innings every time they've been on the mound and that's huge, especially in a weekend series.

"If you get into the bullpen you control the game, but they haven't allowed that. They've been out there pitching their butts off giving us a chance to win and fight. It's awesome."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.