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Tennessee catcher Blake Forsythe (21) slides into second base, but not before Kentucky's Ryan Wilkes forces him out. Tennessee defeated Kentucky 5-3 Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Photo by Saul Young
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Tennessee shortstop Danny Lima (13) catches a ground ball against Kentucky Sunday. Tennessee defeated Kentucky 5-3 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Photo by Saul Young
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Tennessee coach Todd Raleigh tosses a foul ball into the dugout during a game May 11, 2008, against Kentucky at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
There was no relief Sunday afternoon for Tennessee's baseball team. An ugly stretch only got worse.
No. 22 Kentucky had 16 hits during a 20-5 victory at Lindsey Nelson Stadium that extended the Vols' losing streak to nine games.
It was the Vols' most lopsided loss of the season, and it happened on senior day in the 2008 home finale.
"It obviously hurts when you know you're playing your last game at the stadium," senior outfielder Shawn Griffin said, "and to go out and get beat 20-5, it wasn't how you pictured it the night before."
UT (25-27, 11-16 SEC) likely will need a three-game sweep next weekend at South Carolina - plus a lot of help - to make the SEC tournament.
"We'll just go next weekend and keep playing," UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "I don't know what the poker (saying) is, 'You've got a chip and a prayer,' is that what they say in Texas Hold 'Em?"
Senior right-hander Zane Stone, who had pitched 17 innings this season before Sunday and was 0-0 with a 5.82 ERA, got his third start of the season and his first against an SEC opponent.
Junior right-hander Ty'Relle Harris, who has started the last four Sunday SEC games, was the third of six UT pitchers.
"We figured if we could bring (Harris) in the fourth, maybe he can take us the rest of the way," Raleigh said, "because every game Ty'Relle pitches we have the lead and we just can't hold it and he just ran out of gas."
Kentucky (38-14, 14-13) had seven extra-base hits, including three homers.
"They hit the ball well," Raleigh said. "Our pitching, it's the same in the middle of the week (as Sunday). It gets exposed."
Kentucky took a 3-1 lead in the third, chasing both Stone and reliever Jeff Lockwood. Harris ended the inning with a strikeout.
The Vols then scored four in the fourth.
P.J. Polk led off with a single. One out later, Lockwood hit an RBI double and Cody Brown followed with a two-run homer.
Griffin doubled, and Danny Lima's RBI double gave the Vols a 5-3 lead. Kentucky starter Greg Dombrowski was relieved by right-hander Andrew Albers.
Tanner Moore greeted Albers with a double - Lima held at third - and Albers ended the inning with a strikeout and groundout.
"At that point, we had a good feeling about what was going on," Griffin said.
It didn't last long.
Kentucky scored five runs in each of the next two innings for a 13-5 lead.
Harris pitched the fourth and gave up three hits and walked two. Sawyer Carroll's three-run homer was the big hit. Brown's error at third early in the inning didn't help.
Steve Crnkovich pitched the fifth for the Vols and gave up three hits, walked one and hit one.
Kentucky added five runs in seventh for an 18-5 lead. Ryan Wilkes and Chris Wade each hit a two-run homer off the Vols' Ryne Simpson.
Raleigh said his team's effort wasn't a problem Sunday.
"It's hard to say they're not hustling," he said. "I think we're fine with that."
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
Vanderbilt 65, Tennessee 47, Jan. 24…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group slides into second base, but not before Kentucky's Ryan Wilkes forces him out.
Tennessee defeated Kentucky 5-3 Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
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 catches a ground ball against Kentucky Sunday. Tennessee defeated Kentucky 5-3 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
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Comments » 61
eaglentn2002#343016 writes:
Nice comment CatScratch! Especially since you suck in basketball, football, need I go on? I guess you gotta really look for something good to look for when you come down to FOOTBALL AND BASKETBALL Country! Go VolS!
gohawks1 writes:
Ouch. Makes you wish there was a 10-run rule in college baseball.
Ironcity writes:
CatScratch I just heard Gillespie just got a commitment from one of those little league guys just yesterday. As for B Ball UK has NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! finished higher then Coach Pearl. Live for today lets try to forget about Rupps Runts!! Although I can understand why you want to remember the glory years. They were good for UK weren't they.
tigervol9802 writes:
Ouch. Whew, ain't much to say about that.
CatScratch - Glad to see that mommy and daddy have given you internet privledges all by yourself. Are you the 8th grader Billy G took a committment from and trying to get some school spirit early on?
maholt49#632667 writes:
Fire Raleigh's a$$ and Hamilton's for hiring him!!!!!
Triton1 writes:
Some blame this mess on Rod D. I think any time a team quits, it's the fault of the current coach. Hamilton had a slam dunk with Pearl, but he struck out looking with Raleigh.
KHVOLFAN writes:
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
pdhuff#552644 writes:
RIP-2008
VolBallFan writes:
Raleigh has no one to blame but himself on this one. He's systematically dismantled this team. Benched one of the best batters and found reasons to kick other players off. His personal attacks and hateful comments to players are taking a tole on the team. He's said "I can't wait for this F____'in season to be over" at the top of his lungs from the dugout and he got his wish. He's a total disgrace to the team and the students and players deserve better. He's wasted a lot of talent and gotten away with some of the lowest, most disgusting speech towards his own team. Western Carolina has improved since he left, and Tennessee has gotten worse. Strange???
I don't think so.
FWBVol writes:
catlitter, I'm a baseball fan, and all I have to say is even a blind squirell finds a nut every now and then. It's obvious you are one of those KY-nuts, just something with a hard shell and bitter because you don't have a real athletic program.
I'll give you a long-term nod in basketball, but UT winning streak over Kentucky is currently the longest in the country. The last time the mildcats beat UT on the gridiron was during Ronald Reagan's first term in office. How many football coaches have you been through since then?
For overall athletic excellence in both men and women sports there's no comparison...the Vols own the Cats in most sports.
Enjoy the win. NOT! They are few and far between. TRUE!
Musicman74 writes:
Hey' give Raleigh a break this is just his first year. Rod D didn't do well his first year either. At least give him a couple more years, before you call for his hide.
VolBallFan writes:
I won't give any Coach a chance that is hateful and demoralizing to his team. 3 years of insults and hate speech won't improve any team's record or instill the kind of values we want in UT players. Raleigh has already worn out his welcome, and several years of this absolutely disgraceful behavior will destroy UT baseball. He took a great lineup full of SEC leaders and All-Americans and berated them into the ground.
Raleigh is a cancer to UT Athletics and should be removed before he destroys another promising season.
liveinloudon writes:
wow....could not happen to a better coach....
what a disgrace.i hear that the story about Simunic having academic issues is not true i heard that he is not only eligible by SEC standards but by the NCAA as well..What is the True Story? Heard that the commentators on the TV game Saturday stated that he was academically ineligible and that he personally called them and they recanted during the broadcast...
VolBallFan writes:
All of Raleigh's ridiculous behavior has gotten him nowhere but in last place. This guy has sabotaged his team and himself. Don't expect for anything to change, just get rid of this guy before he insults more players, alienates more fans and destroys more seasons.
LOSER
LOSER
LOSER
VolBallFan writes:
Not only is Raleigh bringing down his team, but his stooges, LeCroy and Corral are following suit. C'mon guys. Just because Raleigh's career is a joke and he lack integrity in everything he says and does doesn't mean you have to do the same. Have a backbone.
Goodvol writes:
With all the pitching injuries, what exactly do you expect? At full strength, this team performed well. Through a long season, your weaknesses get exposed and unfortunately it happened. Raleigh will do just fine. All the other teams need to take advantage while they can. I believe he will put a good team on the field next year and we will be just fine.
jdcvols#230433 writes:
One word: bust! Hamilton missed the mark on tnis one. What I don't like is that this team got WORSE as the season went on, not better. He has LITTLE leadership ability. Let's cut our losses now and look for another coach.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Wow, VBF, are you one of those players that Raleigh benched or kicked off the team? As for the "3 years of insult and hate speech" comment, wasn't this his first season?
Give the man a chance. No one - not one of you - slammed this hire when it was announced. He was hailed as another Pearl. Funny how the haters have 20/20 hindsight.
BOJ
VolBallFan writes:
Not a player, just seen a lot of games. Hindsight? This guy has been a menace all year long and I'm not the only one to say so. I've heard it sitting in the stands coming from the dugout, read his insults in interviews, and seen him disparage players and send them out of the dugout for making an error. It's embarrassing to be associated with TR. One year is enough, and it won't improve.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Like I said, hindsight. And where did the 3 years comment come from?
liveinloudon writes:
Who was raving about Raleigh . when he was hired I remembered reading Who is this Guy and now we know. He is a loser coach. A demoralizing Coach. A coach that most players Do Not Want To Play For.
We were winning at the beginning of the season because the team had not spent much time with him. The longer the team spent with him and his coaching the worse the team got.
I say to the potential players out there As long as Raleigh is at UT go somewhere else!!! He will Ruin You.
liveinloudon writes:
Who was raving about Raleigh . when he was hired I remembered reading Who is this Guy and now we know. He is a loser coach. A demoralizing Coach. A coach that most players Do Not Want To Play For.
We were winning at the beginning of the season because the team had not spent much time with him. The longer the team spent with him and his coaching the worse the team got.
I say to the potential players out there As long as Raleigh is at UT go somewhere else!!! He will Ruin You.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Yeah, Western Carolina is 27-24 this year. They won about 43 games last year. That's what I call improvement. Oh and WCU has 1 freshman starting for them this year. How many do we have? Polk, Liles, Davis? Crknkovich was being counted on as #1 starter. You know the one that transferred from the baseball powerhouse known as Illinois-Chicago. I'm sure having only 10.2 out of 11.7 scholarhips available doesn't help matters much either thanks to Delmonico's APR blunders.
VolBallFan writes:
BOJ, 3 years is a response to people who say we need to give him a couple more years. It will only go from bad to worse. Vols have been in a tailspin for months and it's not just pitching. Raleigh has taken the will to play out of his best offensive threats.
WLH, did you conveniently forget freshmen Davis and Morgado???
OrangePride writes:
Well, its official. This baseball team has accomplished something I really did not think possible here at Tennessee.....they just quit. That is the only explanation. As for the tournament, they really have not played their way into deserving a spot. This club needs an attitude and commitment overhaul. We will see what Raleigh can do between now and next season....it's far too early to tell about him. But no one is happy about this season and, on that point, I doubt that anyone can much disagree.
dvols writes:
college baseball? aluminum bats? any real talent here at this level? good ball players go to the minor league! (very few exceptions)
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Volball, I included Davis and Morgado is a redshirt freshman. I was mainly talking about position players though. Alot of Delmonico's teams quit on him. Delmonico's the last 10 years:
Finished with a winning record in the SEC two whole times out of last 10 years
Was 130-162 in SEC games the last 10 years
Made the SEC tournament 4 times, winning 2 games in Hoover the whole last decade.
Made an NCAA regional 4 out of 10 years
TommyJack writes:
I'm too far away to see games in person or TV. Did the team really lay down, or are they just bad. The first year Coach should get a chance if they're just bad....laying down..well that's another story.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
dvols, gets the moron post of the day. Good one.
TommyJack writes:
What Workin said.
sdye16#641965 writes:
Would you all rather have a coach that takes his team by the hand and say "It's ok that you gave up 20 runs to a team that only scored 5 in each of the previous two games. It's ok that you don't get tougher when things aren't going perfectly for you. It's ok that you guys take 3 straight strikes when you're the tying run to end the game (reference to game 1 against UK)" etc. I'd rather have a coach not make excuses about what's happening and attempt to put some fire into his players.
VolBallFan writes:
At this point I almost hope he stays just to prove how bad he really is. The only shame is fans, players, students, and the Athletic Dept. will look worse for it. The news is already out about what a disaster TR really is, but some people need more convincing.
Redvol writes:
Big Orange fan here, but have to admit, haven't followed baseball as closely as football or basketball. So help me out, is Raleigh the Kevin O'Neil of baseball? I did see my alma mater ETSU kick UT's tail in Johnson City & then again in Knoxville. With everything else on the way up at UT, baseball needs to get its act together!! Go Vols!!
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
VolBall, that's fine but who are the ones that are complaining about Raleigh? It's not the afformentioned freshmen who don't have any problems with Raleigh. Liles teammate from USJ could have gone to LSU, Miss State, Memphis, ets. but chose to come to Tennessee on November 29th when the fall semester was pretty much over and after Liles had a chance to go through fall practice and see what Raleigh is like. Guess what, Clayton Gant comitted to Tennessee as did a number of other players that are coming here. If the older guys don't like Raleigh's style (which I am sure they don't like having to go to class, workout, be acountable and preferred the country club style that Rod had) aren't being coachable than that's their problem and they will be replaced.
sdye16#641965 writes:
I agree with you WLH. It's just a shame that it seems like the older guys could not buy into Raleigh's system like the basketball team did when Pearl first got here. Hopefully all the in-coming players will do what they're supposed to and help turn this program around.
VolsorCat writes:
CatScratch: Great job of proving what a lot of people say about Kentucky fans. Have you gone to any of the UK games this Spring (I have season tickets)? UK isn't that great so getting on here bashing UT is classless.
SouthernMom writes:
The team appeared totally demoralized, for whatever reason. A sorry way for our seniors to go out. Simunic was not ineligible; he was basically told by CTR "I don't like you and you don't like me. You're gone." He was not allowed to remain in the dugout, even out of uniform. Very sad state of affairs; I think our AD has missed the mark on this one.
tigervol9802 writes:
Why, when there is a coach/player dispute, do we always blame the coach?
SouthernMom writes:
I don't think that we "always" blame the coach. There certainly are two sides to every story. But I don't believe this coach helps his cause -- or at least the public's perception of him -- by frequently using vulgar language and publicly berating his team and players. Respect is a two-way street, even when dealing with young people. Bobby Knight was a great coach, but his methods don't really work any more. Perhaps things will improve; I hope so.
FlushTheJohn writes:
Have any of you ever played sports before? Coaches always yell and cuss at players. If you are not strong enough mentally to take it, then you are not strong enough mentally to play!!
The problem with this team is that, with the exception of a few freshman, there is no talent at all!! Where is this "best hitter" he supposedly benched? We only have one decent hitter on the entire team and I've seen Kentrail Davis play just about every game! Who did he kick off the team? Are we talking about Andy Siminuc? He is as lousy a player as I've seen play college ball!!
And didn't Andy get the can at the end of last year for academics or whatever? Sounds like the problem is with the player here, not the coach!
fmkhbeach#223636 writes:
FlushtheJohn, the best hitter being referred to is Shawn Griffin, named SEC Player of the Week after the FL series. He has swung a hot bat all season. I heard he was benched for throwing a bat. Which is fine for a few games, but then he stayed there only to be thrown in as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning when no one in the line-up could hit the broad side of a barn. I've heard too many comments from multiple sources this season about the head games Raleigh played with this team and comments he made about not caring if they ever play baseball again to not be bothered by them. I was no RD fan, and I want to give Raleigh a chance, but the stuff I've heard is disturbing. And again, I've heard it from A LOT of different people, not just the parents of the players benched.
And I love your comment, JohnAdamsIsTrash, about people not really caring. Where were all these people all season? Definitely not at the games.
TommyJack writes:
Anyone on here PERSONALLY seen this team lay down?
BigOrangeHustler writes:
Even if this team had major league talent Todd Raliegh's redneck self would find a way to screw it up.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
Raleigh is from Vermont. Can he really be considered a redneck?
VolBallFan writes:
I just hope these pro-Raleigh posters remember their comments when details come out and the record gets worse. Raleigh has shown his true, classless colors and it's time to find someone with a little substance.
FTJ, Simunic is lousy? Led the SEC in steals and the team in batting avg. last year. If that's your idea of lousy then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Also, I've never tried vulgar insults or public humiliation to motivate and get the best out of people, so maybe I should try that before I criticize TR.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
I'm not necessarily a pro-Raleigh supporter other than I think we should see where we are next year at this time. IF we have improved in the midweek games and not tanked at the end of the season like we have this year than I'd say that we are on the right track. IF we get a repeat of it though and get the same types of "stories", players are still transferring, APR is down again, recruiting is hurting, then it would be fair to start questioning him at the end of year 2. What players are complaining or are going to transfer? We keep hearing they are but no one will say who it is.
liveinloudon writes:
flushthejohn for your info simunic was not benched last year or thrown off the team..... not sure where you get your info.
BigOrangeJeff writes:
Oh my gosh... Has there been a rip in the spacial fabric? A glitch at the nexus of the universe? A third full moon in a single month?
Something is up. I just agreed with all of WLH’s posts that I’ve read on this subject. Next thing you know, McCain and Hillary will team up for the general election.
Seriously, thanks for the reasonable, lucid, well-researched contributions. This “Fire the Coach” mentality gets a little nuts. Surely we can give the guy more than a single season before calling for his head.
BOJ
DeeBee writes:
Say what you want about his first year, but losing to the likes of ETSU, Belmont, David Lipscomb, and a few others that size and then getting drilled in the clutch the last two weekends, it doesn't seem he's too good of a coach at all
VolBallFan writes:
When you have a disease like cancer, you don't wait for it to get better, you remove it. And that's exactly what TR is. Maybe you'll get to see how he fares another season, but the only record he's setting this year is a losing streak.
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