Sliding Vols to vie with UK for postseason fate

By Scott Simmons
Daily Times Correspondent

KNOXVILLE -- No one told Todd Raleigh this was going to be easy.

With his squad currently mired in a six-game skid, Tennessee's first-year baseball coach is currently earning every penny of that new, upgraded salary, more than three times what he was making last season at Western Carolina.

"If things were perfect at Tennessee, I wouldn't even be here right now," said Raleigh, who led his Catamounts to a Southern Conference title and an NCAA regional final appearance a season ago. "This is a tough time, but tough people last; tough times don't."

The tough times have gotten worse of late. The Vols (25-24, 11-13 Southeastern Conference) have dropped eight of nine, including embarrassing setbacks to mid-major opponents Belmont and East Tennessee State. UT is just 2-9 against in-state teams and also dropped a 5-2 home decision to Raleigh's former team last week.

"It definitely takes a couple of years to get your system in," said Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, who has found himself in the new head coach role at five different schools. "The first year you are going to have a bunch of peaks and valleys.

"When you're winning, the kids are going to believe everything you tell them. When you start to lose, they probably think back to the previous coach that was there."

The losing has come a lot lately, that after a promising start. The Volunteers opened conference play by taking three in a row from five-time national champion LSU, but have won just two of six series since, including an embarrassing home sweep at the hands of arch-rival Vanderbilt last weekend.

Tennessee, which is currently tied with Kentucky for the eighth and final qualifying spot in the SEC Tournament field, must rebound quickly, as it will host the 23rd-ranked Wildcats (35-14, 11-13) in a pivotal three-game series beginning tonight at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

"We're definitely not playing our best baseball of the year right now," said Raleigh, "but if you can't get fired up to play with what's on the line this weekend, then we have bigger problems than baseball going on."

Regardless, Raleigh wasn't exactly left with a full cupboard. The Vols lost three first-round draft picks in the 2007 June amateur draft, and this year's senior class is only four members strong. Daniel Beasley, Shawn Griffin, Andy Simunic and Zane Stone each will be honored during Senior Day festivities prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. contest.

"The transition period does take a little bit of time," said South Carolina coach Ray Tanner, who failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament during his first season in Columbia. "When I came here, I can remember my first team meeting with the guys like it was yesterday.

"I tried to make a lot of eye contact on purpose, and I had to ask guys to do things my way. I could see some heads nodding, and I noticed that some others weren't. There were a half dozen guys or so my first year who had a hard time buying in."

But Raleigh insists things are going to go the right way -- maybe not this year, but at some point in the future.

"I don't think anybody has quit," said Raleigh. "It's been a combination of things. When you're struggling it's easier to go the other way. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is the right thing.

"Even so, we're really young. We're not the most talented team, and we weren't exactly picked to finish high. This season has been like being a rookie in Major League Baseball. It's just going to take some time."