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Entering two midweek games with LaSalle, the goal for Tennessee baseball was to take care of business while keeping a perfect record intact. And the No. 19 Vols (12-0) did just that, destroying an outmanned LaSalle squad by a score of 10-2 on Wednesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
An eight-run victory and a combined two-game series score of 24-2 weren’t enough to please head coach Dave Serrano, however.
“I don’t think we played well today,” Serrano said after the game. “I told that to the team.”
With a huge weekend matchup against traditional powerhouse No. 24 Arizona State just two days away, it wasn’t unexpected for players to have the upcoming series in the back of their minds.
“Obviously it’s human nature—as much as we try—that these young guys were looking beyond this game,” Serrano said. “They’re excited about the opportunity we get to play a national ranked team—a team that has been to the college world series and has great tradition. It would be fair to say that they were probably looking past this team a little bit, especially after last night ended up being so easy.”
Serrano seemed pleased with the effort on the mound from two newcomers this week: Hunter Martin and Bret Marx. Marx, as Hunter did last night, picked up the win after pitching three innings of scoreless baseball.
“It was very encouraging the last two nights to get him in the game and Hunter, two guys that I think have established themselves over the fall and the winter workouts and we just didn’t have an opportunity to use them,” Serrano said. “So now it just expands our pitching a little bit as long as we can continue to stay healthy.”
Freshman Nick Senzel led the Vols offensively, going 1-2 with three RBIs, a walk, and a run scored.
“I’m very proud of our 12-0,” Serrano finally conceded. “I keep saying this, and I know I’m repeating myself; we have a lot of things to fix be the kind of team I know these guys want to be and this coaching staff wants to be.”
The Arizona State series presents a big opportunity for the Vols to gain some national exposure.
College Baseball writer Kendall Rogers tweeted earlier this week:
“Have a lot of #Tennessee questions in my inbox. Love what Serrano and his staff are doing right now. ASU this weekend could skyrocket #Vols.”
“We’re 12-0. We’re not getting the recognition around the country that maybe I believe we should be. But maybe there’s a reason for that. We are going to have to go out and beat some big boys to start proving ourselves to the country,” Serrano said.
During their first 12 games of the season, Tennessee not only recorded a perfect 12-0 record, but outscored its opponents 124-31.
The team will depart tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. for Nashville where they will catch a flight to Tempe, Arizona.
Nick Williams is expected to start Friday’s game, with Andrew Lee getting the nod on Saturday and Kyle Serrano starting Sunday’s finale.
Tennessee Vols Baseball Forum link: LaSalle Game 2 Live Discussion thread[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]