Vols too much for Gamecocks

COLUMBIA, S.C. - One more day.

That's what the Tennessee baseball team earned with its 13-2 win Thursday over No. 18 South Carolina, helping the team stave off elimination from a spot in the SEC tournament for one more day.

Tennessee's Nick Hernandez tossed the first complete game of his collegiate career, striking out eight and allowing no runs through eight innings. He gave up three hits, which tied for the fewest he's allowed as a starter this season.

For Hernandez (2-5) the win over the Gamecocks (35-19, 13-15 SEC) is his second career SEC win, both of which have come over Carolina. The first was May 12, 2007.

"Whenever your back's against the wall, all you can do is go forward. So that's what we're going to try and do this series," Hernandez said.

The Vols (27-27, 12-16 SEC) are still battling with the Gamecocks as well as Auburn and Arkansas for the final slot in the SEC Tournament's eight-team field. A loss would have doomed Tennessee's season to end with the conclusion of the three-game series on Saturday.

"We played good tonight,'' UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "It started with Nick Hernandez. Nick was great. He threw up some zeroes against a very good offensive team."

"You win on (Thursday) night on the road in the SEC, that's pretty good."

Tennessee got a bizarre start in the top of the second inning. Centerfielder Kentrail Davis blasted a ball off the wall in center field which Gamecocks outfielder Whit Merrifield misplayed, allowing Davis to hustle around the bases for an inside-the-park home run, the Vols' first since March 2004.

With a 1-0 lead, the Vols continued to pad their advantage scoring in each inning from the fourth through the eighth.

The Vols hit four home runs, starting with a two-run shot by third baseman Cody Brown in the fifth. P.J. Polk continued the Vols onslaught later in the inning, blasting a three-run shot for his fourth home run of the year.

While Tennessee showed power in padding the lead, the best performance at the plate might have belonged to Danny Lima. The second baseman came into the game batting under .275 but went 4-for-4 and reached base all six times he was at bat (4 hits, 2 hit-by-pitch).

"I just did what I could with the pitches I got," Lima said. "Anytime you win by that many, it boosts up your confidence."

With left hander Bryan Morgado (5-4) set to go today for the Vols, Raleigh is hopeful his team can keep the momentum going for the weekend, but knows that it won't be easy against the potent South Carolina offense.

"They've been the best team the last 10 years in our conference so I don't expect them to lay down," Raleigh said.

"I don't think its going to be easy, but it gives us hope. It gives us hope."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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