Mississippi State sweeps Vols, wins 5-2

In all, the Volunteers were 1-for-17 with runners on base and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. They will return to the diamond at 7 p.m. on Tuesday to host the opener of a home-and-home midweek series against Middle Tennessee State. UT will travel to Murfreesboro on Wednesday.

“Our kids played hard,” UT Head Coach Todd Raleigh said. “As a coach, that’s all you can ask for. I thought we put ourselves in a position to win. I’m proud of the way they played. I thought we were ready. We just needed that one hit to clear the bases. (Mississippi State) made a great play with two outs in the sixth, but we have to overcome that. We just try to keep teaching and helping them learn the game as much as we possibly can. It’s not like they aren’t trying. They are playing hard. You saw (Khayyan) diving all over the field and our pitchers were battling out there. We never gave up. We had a chance even at the end with the tying run (at the plate) in the ninth.”

Senior Khayyan Norfork and junior Davis Morgan each had a pair of hits for the Big Orange, while senior Matt Duffy added his 11th double of the season. Senior Rob Catapano (2-5) suffered the loss for the Vols after battling through 4.2 innings in which he allowed three runs on four hits and five walks. Chris Stratton (5-5) picked up the win for the Bulldogs, striking out nine and yielding two runs on six hits in 5.2 frames of work. Caleb Reed recorded his ninth save with 3.1 scoreless innings and five strikeouts out of the bullpen.

Posted in: Davis MorganRob Catapano,Khayyan Norfork,Matt Duffy,Todd Raleigh,Volunteers