July 22, 2009

If summer league success is any indication, the future of the University of Tennessee baseball program is getting brighter by the day. The Volunteers have a total of 19 current players and signees participating in leagues throughout the country, including five in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League and another playing with the US Collegiate National Team.

Currently in Prince Georgia, British Columbia, competing in the World Baseball Challenge, UT rising junior Blake Forsythe is hitting .277 for Team USA with a pair of home runs and three doubles. The Memphis native has also walked 20 times in just 17 games en route to a stellar .514 on-base percentage.

In the Cape Cod League, a trio of Vols have been spectacular, highlighted by the efforts of UT junior college signee Chad Bell who twirled a no-hitter over the Chatham Athletics on Sunday, July 12. The former South-Doyle High School and Walters State standout walked three and struck out eight in leading the Cotuit Kettleers to the 8-2 victory. For the summer, Bell leads the team in virtually every pitching category with a 3-1 record, a 1.07 ERA in 33.2 innings and 30 strikeouts to just 12 walks. The Texas Rangers' 14th-round selection in last month's MLB Draft, Bell has allowed only 15 hits in eight appearances, including five starts.

Not to be outdone, rising senior Bryan Morgado has starred for the Bourne Braves, tallying a 1-0 record with a stellar 1.80 ERA. The hard-throwing left-hander has struck out 32 in 20 innings, while allowing just 11 hits, 11 walks and a total of four earned runs. For his efforts, the third-round pick by the Chicago White Sox was named the Coca-Cola Pitcher of the Week on July 9.

With Bell and Morgado shining on the mound, UT rising junior Cody Hawn has done the same in the batter's box, as he ranks among the league leaders in a number of offensive categories. Playing for the Hyannis Mets, the 2009 third-team All-America honoree is hitting .375 and is tied for the second in the league with four home runs. He also ranks fifth with 14 RBIs and would hold a commanding lead with a .708 slugging percentage if he had 26 more plate appearances.

In the Northwoods League, a pair of rising sophomores are currently pitching for the La Crosse Loggers. Steven Gruver has been the team's ace, amassing a perfect 5-0 record and a save in 10 appearances, including nine starts. The Canfield, Ohio, native has logged a team-high 54.2 innings, allowing just eight earned runs and 36 hits, while striking out 39 and allowing 20 walks. Gruver was named the team's player of the week on June 30 and earned a spot on All-Star Game roster for the South Division. In that game, which took place on Tuesday, July 21, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, Gruver claimed the victory, allowing just one hit in an inning of work. Also pitching for the Loggers is Clayton Gant, a right-hander from Parsons, Tenn. He has yet to allow a run in three relief appearances, recording one save and striking out three batters in four innings.

The league with the most Tennessee representatives is the Coastal Plains League where Matt Ramsey, Charley Thurber, Aaron Tullo and Josh Liles are on the Thomasville HiToms roster and Will Locante and Stephen McCray are playing for the Florence RedWolves. McCray has been dominant on the hill, putting together a 5-2 record and 2.22 ERA in eight starts. The rising senior ranks fifth in the league with 56.2 innings pitched and is tied for third with a total of 59 strikeouts. He has also walked only 21 batters and has held opponents to a .181 batting average thus far this year. In addition, McCray has done some damage offensively, hitting .262 with a home run and four RBIs.

A teammate of McCray's, Locante has been a solid presence in the bullpen for the RedWolves, having allowed just one hit all season. The rising sophomore is 1-0 and has one save in five appearances. In 10 innings of work, Locante has given up just one run while striking out 13 and holding opposing hitters to a .036 average.

For the HiToms, Tullo has been one of the team's more reliable pitchers, posting a 2-3 record and 5.73 ERA in 37.2 innings. He has appeared in 11 games, with five starts, given up just 26 hits and struck out 42, while walking 30. Ramsey, a rising sophomore, has thrown 3.1 innings, allowing five earned runs and striking out three, while fellow classmate Thurber has started 36 games and is hitting .226 with three home runs, 20 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Since joining the HiToms after UT's first session of summer school, Liles has been on fire, hitting .360 in 25 games. The rising junior from Jackson, Tenn., has 32 hits, including six doubles and two home runs, 20 RBIs and is 6-for-8 on the base paths. Despite having missed the first 19 games of the summer, Liles was still able to earn a spot on the 2009 American CPL All-Star Team, which took on McCray and the National squad at Buck Hardee Field in Wilmington, N.C., on July 21st. Although the game ended in a 2-2 tie, Liles went 1-for-2 at the plate with a run scored, while McCray pitched a scoreless fifth inning, recording a pair of strikeouts.

Elsewhere around the nation, right-handed pitcher Dylan Hochevar has a 4-1 record with a 3.15 ERA for the Liberal Bee Jays of the Jayhawk League. He has struck out 38 in 48 innings pitched. A trio of Vols has been gaining experience in the Valley League in Virginia, with rising sophomore Adam Adkins pitching for the Winchester Royals and redshirt freshmen Mason Forbis and Hunter Daniel throwing for the Faquier Gators and Rockbridge Rapids, respectively, while Josh Allman is spending his summer with the Herndon Braves in the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate Baseball League.

For the Royals, Adkins has started seven games, going 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. Forbis has appeared in four games for the Gators, striking out three in 3.1 innings, while Daniel has a 2.65 ERA in seven games for the Rapids, tossing 17 innings with eight strikeouts. He has allowed just 10 hits and is holding opposing batters to a .182 average. Allman, meanwhile, is 1-2 on the season with a 4.12 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 19.2 innings of relief.