Friday night started off well for the Tennessee Volunteers when second basemen Andy Simunic led off the first inning with a base hit.

However, the Vols (25–21, 11–11 SEC) bats went quiet in the next eight innings, picking up only six more hits as Tennessee dropped the opening game of the weekend series against Vanderbilt, 8–5.

"We were kind of flat, and it was a combination of things," coach Todd Raleigh said following the loss. "Their pitcher did a good job, but the three-run home run in the first just kind of takes the wind out of your sail.

"It took us time to recover, but I thought we did. Overall, I don't think we quit."

Vanderbilt started quickly and hit consistently on their way to building an eight-run lead.

Vol starter Nick Hernandez gave up a three-run home run to clean up hitter Ryan Flaherty in the first inning to set the tempo for the Commodores.

After the Simunic single, every Tennessee batter was retired prior to a Danny Lima double in the bottom of the fifth inning.

While the Vols were held silent, Vanderbilt combined single runs in the third and fourth innings with another three-run inning in the sixth to build a lead which they never relinquished.

The 2,176 Tennessee fans in attendance finally had reason to cheer in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Freshman P.J. Polk led the off the inning by bouncing a solo-home run off the right field scoreboard. The blast was Polk's third homer of the year. Three batters later Josh Liles blasted his sixth home run of the year over the left field bleachers to drive in Simunic.

The rally continued for the Vols in the ninth inning.

Lima reached on a fielder's choice before Polk singled to move Lima into scoring position. Jarred Frazier then took advantage as he doubled to right-center field to drive in both runners. The two-RBI double for Frazier brought the Vols within three runs.

Shawn Griffin, Tennessee's home run leader, pinch hit for Cody Grisham with his team trailing by three runs and Frazier standing on second. Griffin was unable to make good contact though as he chopped a ground ball to the pitcher for the final out of the game.

"I know I'm being a little over-dramatic with it, but we did fight back," Raleigh said. "To see guys diving around defensively and to see our hitters make them make a pitching change in the end was pretty good I thought."

Vanderbilt Mike Minor was the dominant figure in frustrating the Vols offense. Minor pitched 8 2/3 innings giving up five runs on seven hits with all of the runs coming in the final two innings.

Nick Hernandez was not as effective pitching for the Vols. Coming off a solid outing last week at Mississippi State, Hernandez gave up eight earned runs on 11 hits in his six innings pitched.

Steve Crnkovich came in for two innings of relief and D.J. Leffler pitched a perfect ninth inning as the duo combined to give up only one hit over the final three innings.

The series will continue Saturday with wins in high demand for Tennessee's hopes at qualifying for the eight-team SEC tournament. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. with Bryan Morgado expected to start for the Vols.