Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Tennessee raced out to a five-run lead by the third inning and never looked back as the Vols' took a 15-1 victory over Manhattan (2-9) on Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville. Vols' senior second baseman Khayyan Norfork drove in five runs on three hits, while Jaspers' pitcher Mike Giordano was credited with his first loss of the year after lasting 4 2/3 innings against the Southeast Conference juggernaut.
Tennessee (13-2) wasted little time to jump on Manhattan. The Vols got on the scoreboard in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Josh Liles, and then scored three more runs on five consecutive hits in the bottom of the second inning before the Jaspers could record an out. Norfork delivered a two RBI double to jump ahead 4-0.
The Jaspers scored their only run of the contest in the fourth inning. Manhattan strung together a pair of hits from third baseman Chad Salem and designated hitter Ramon Ortega to set the table for sophomore outfielder Anthony Vega's sacrifice fly to bring the Jaspers within 5-1 of the Vols.
Salem went 2-for-3 from the plate to improve his team leading batting average to .432. Senior outfielder Mike McCann also recorded two hits in the contest.
The Vols chased Giordano out of the game in the fifth inning after touching him up for five runs on five hits and one error. Norfork triggered Giordano's exit with a two-out bases clearing double to right center which increased Tennessee's lead to 10-1. Giordano struck out two batters in the ballgame.
Tennessee worked five more runs off the Manhattan bullpen in the final three innings. Jaspers' freshmen Jacob Marchus, Scott McClennan and Kevin Bonanni wrapped up the final three frames on the hill.
Vols' red-shirt freshman starter Jon Reed lasted 4 2/3 innings before turning the ball over to freshman Carter Watson who pitched 1 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit to improve his record to 3-0.
Manhattan looks to bounce back on Tuesday when the Jaspers travel to Newark, N.J. to square off with NJIT. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
