Shawn Griffin continued to swing a hot stick and Kentrail Davis managed to break out of his recent slump to lead the Tennessee Volunteers to a 16-13 victory over in-state foe Austin Peay at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday.
The duo combined for four home runs, nine RBIs and seven runs as the Vols picked up their 20th win of the season. Griffin now seven home runs on the season, including six in his last four games, to go along with 23 RBIs. Davis' five-RBI day gives him 28 RBIs and six homers in 2008.
"It was a crazy game," Raleigh said after the four-hour game. "We're starting to swing the bats better, but it was just a strange game. There wasn't a lot of flow to the game."
The Vols (20-11, 7-5) gave up a run in the opponent's opening at-bat for the fourth consecutive game as the Govs used an RBI-double from Matt Kole to take an early lead.
We're starting to swing the bats better, but it was just a strange game. Todd Raleigh, UT baseball coach
In what would become a trend, the Vols found a way to answer following an Austin Peay score when Davis hit his first home run and Jeff Lockwood hit an RBI-double to put the Vols up 2-1 after the opening inning.
The Governors once again took a one-run lead in the third inning before Davis and Griffin responded with solo home runs to give the Vols a 4-3 advantage.
"I'm not sure if I'm back in it or not, but I saw some good pitches to hit," Davis said after his 4-for-5 performance. "I was just able to get a good swing going and I hit them good."
APSU's Trey Lucas, a Knoxville native, evened the score at four with a solo-shot in the fifth inning before the Vols answered with three runs in the bottom half of the frame. Tennessee scored one run on a balk and got RBIs from Josh Liles and Blake Forsythe to pull back ahead.
The Governors rallied from down three runs to take a four-run advantage with seven runs on seven hits in the top of the sixth inning. The break out inning for Austin Peay was highlighted by Will Hogue's three-run homer.
Following the script, the Vols responded to the Governors big inning with nine runs in the bottom of the eighth to reclaim a lead they would ultimately keep.
The Vols used eight hits, including a three-run homer from Griffin, to deal the deciding blow in their final at bat. Griffin's second long ball of the day gave the Vols a 12-11 lead.
"I knew he was going to go off-speed, and he hung me a curve-ball," Griffin said in reference to his eighth-inning blast. "I tried my best to keep my hands in and it got just inside the foul pole."
The Vols allowed two runs in a dramatic ninth inning before Ty'Relle Harris managed to strike out Matt Kole with the bases loaded to end the game.
Tennessee will travel to East Tennessee State for its second in-state game of the week tomorrow night at 7 p.m.
Costly Victory
The mid-week win may carry a stiff price for the Vols in future games. Third baseman Cody Brown and relief pitcher Danny Wiltz both left with injuries late in the contest. Brown injured his calf fielding a ground ball and Wiltz left the mound with a tricep injury.
The Vols were also bitten by the injury bug on Sunday when relief pitcher Aaron Everett left the game with an elbow injury.
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