Morgado keeps Connecticut guessing, 3-2

Bryan Morgado couldn't quite go the distance.

Yet, the left-hander starter still might have turned in his most complete game with Tennessee.

Morgado had electric stuff, a fastball Connecticut struggled to pick up and great control during seven scoreless innings on Saturday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. But it took the rest of the total package to really bottle up the Huskies in UT's rain-delayed, 3-2 win in the Arby's Classic.

"One hit, I don't know how much better you can do than that," UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "He's pitched some pretty good games here, but I'll go out on a limb and say that's probably one of the best I've seen. I mean, it's a one-hitter.

"His ball had life, it was down in the zone, he worked ahead for the most part, had a couple hiccups there where he threw some extra pitches, but other than that he was masterful. He really gave us what we needed."

The junior hardly could have given much more to deliver the Vols (8-6) some momentum going into a doubleheader today against Ohio State and Marshall.

After a somewhat wild start that included a double to the wall and a hit-by-pitch, Morgado retired the next 12 batters and didn't give up another hit before handing over a 3-0 lead to the bullpen.

He struck out nine to set a career high, only allowed three balls out of the infield, threw 15 first-pitch strikes to keep the Huskies (6-3) off-balance and did it while working on both sides of a one-hour rain delay in the fifth. The only real blemishes might have been Morgado's three walks, but he personally erased two of them with pickoffs - showing off the whole bag of tricks and giving UT's struggling offense some breathing room.

"I'm really happy about our win, and all I did was do my job," Morgado said. "That's all I can say, I did my job and we got the big 'W.'

"That's just part of pitching, working all the aspects of pitching. Fielding your position, doing your pickoff moves, keeping the ball down in the zone, getting groundballs, striking people out, it's all part of pitching. If you do well pitching but you don't do well fielding a bunt, that can cost you a game and everybody overlooks that. You've just got to do everything you've got to do to give your team a chance to win."

It almost wasn't able to hold onto it with the Vols scratching out just three runs on eight hits and then giving up a two-run homer in the ninth.

But Will Locante got his first save with a strikeout to close the door, locking up a win UT needed and Morgado earned.

"It shows you how far Bryan has come in so many fronts," Raleigh said. "He had that rocky first inning, but even that wasn't too bad - one hit. After that he was phenomenal.

"People that have followed us the last couple years know that teams have been able to run on Bryan, but he picked two guys off. It doesn't seem big, but in a 3-2 ballgame, it is big. Just fielding his position, holding the running game, all those things are how far he's come."

© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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