Baseball Vols lose to Florida in blowout
KNOXVILLE — There were a few schools of thought floating around Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday about why the Tennessee baseball team might be able to compete with visiting top-ranked Florida.
Perhaps the tropically accustomed Gators would struggle with the unseasonably frigid Knoxville weather. Or perhaps Tennessee would ride the confidence of last season’s series victory over Florida into a similar performance this year against the reigning national champions.
The wishful thinking evaporated in a sea of fifth-inning Gators hits and Tennessee errors as Florida took the first of a three-game Southeastern Conference series 22-6.
Florida (26-5, 7-2) posted seven runs in the fifth — four of them unearned — and tacked on seven more in the sixth in a display of why many college baseball pundits believe the Gators will repeat as national champions in 2018.
“There’s such a thing as too much respect for your opponent,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said. “I think that played into some things tonight.”
Tennessee (18-13, 4-6) gets two chances at redemption today in a pair of seven-inning games to conclude the series. The first game is at noon and will be televised by SEC Network. The second game will begin 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first.
The Vols will need to shore up their defense to avoid a second consecutive weekend sweep. Three errors in the fifth inning prevented them from getting off the field after they battled back from an early deficit.
Starting pitcher Garrett Crochet retired the Gators in order in the first inning but surrendered five earned runs on homers by Nick Horvath and Deacon Liput in the second. Tennessee’s freshman left-hander settled in during innings three and four as the Vols closed within 5-3 on a two-RBI double from Brodie Leftridge.
Then came Florida’s onslaught that left Tennessee in a 19-3 hole.
“I’m not really for the false pat on the back: ‘Hey, nobody quit,’” Vitello said. “We’re playing in the SEC. There shouldn’t be athletes that quit. We’ve got to do a better job or hold ourselves to a higher standard of executing in situations.”
Tennessee used four relievers in the contest, turning to little-used reserves Connor Darling and Sam Springer late to preserve arms for today’s contests in hopes they bear no resemblance to Saturday’s game.
“Florida is a great team. There’s no doubt about that,” said Tennessee catcher and designated hitter Nico Mascia, who had a double and scored in the third inning. “But that’s kind of how baseball is. You’ve got to go out there tomorrow and forget about it.”
Stapp still out
Vitello hoped to have starting third baseman Wyatt Stapp back in the lineup this weekend, but Stapp needed to have his knee drained of fluid as he continues working back from an injury he suffered on March 16 against Ole Miss. Stapp is hitting .302 in his freshman season.
“Life goes on, and there’s an opportunity there for someone,” Vitello said. “That’s one more comment I made to the team is we’re kind of looking for someone to be starving to death to take that spot.”
Freshman Evan Russell started at third base Saturday and was charged with two errors at an unfamiliar position after mostly being used as a designated hitter this year.
“We’ll just keep experimenting,” Vitello said, “because I don’t like losing and they don’t, either. We’ll try and come up with a formula that works until (Stapp) is back.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.