Saul Young

Tennessee's Ty'Relle Harris pitches against Alabama on Sunday in the Vols' 6-4 home win.

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Shawn Griffin wanted to bunt. Good thing Tennessee baseball coach Todd Raleigh took the bunt sign off.

Griffin launched a three-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday afternoon that propelled the Vols to a 6-4 victory over Alabama in an SEC game before 1,510 fans at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

UT (22-13, 9-6 in SEC) trailed 4-2 in the eighth when Yan Gomes singled and Cody Brown walked to start the Vols' inning. Griffin, the reigning SEC player of the week, went to the plate and got the bunt sign from Raleigh.

"I wasn't looking too good all day," Griffin said, "so I was kind of happy to lay down a bunt to try to help the team."

Griffin, who was 1-for-9 in the series before Sunday's eighth-inning at-bat, squared around to bunt off starter Miers Quigley, whose first two pitches were balls.

Griffin got the take sign on the next pitch, a ball, and got another take sign on the next pitch, a strike for a 3-1 count.

"I looked up and it was only 84 (miles per hour on the scoreboard)," Raleigh said, "so I say, (Quigley's) thinking we're bunting here so he's going to throw a fastball, so I gave Shawn an opportunity to swing and it worked out real good."

Griffin got the pitch Raleigh anticipated.

"I got my first fastball probably in a while, and I just saw it up and tried to get back to my stance," Griffin said. "I knew the entire series I got away from myself and I said I'm going back and it seemed to work out well."

Alabama (20-17, 6-9) lost for the first time in 20 games this season when leading after six innings.

Both teams had 12 hits.

Alabama stranded 12 and UT nine.

Gomes and Andy Simunic had three hits each for the Vols and Kentrail Davis had two hits, including an RBI single in the eighth for a 6-4 lead.

"It's just typical of our team, never giving up," Raleigh said.

Junior left-hander Joey Rosas (3-1) was the winner in relief of starter Ty'Relle Harris.

Rosas entered in the eighth and retired six of seven batters, allowing only a single by Brandon May to start the ninth. Rosas struck out three.

In Wednesday night's loss at East Tennessee State, Rosas gave up seven runs on seven hits in 32<0x2044>3 innings.

"I just had a lot of confidence (Sunday)," Rosas said. "I've got to have confidence every time I pitch. . . . I was able to throw the split-finger for a strike. That was my biggest pitch right there."

Harris, a junior right-hander, got his first SEC start and his fifth of the season.

He gave up 11 hits and four runs, all earned, in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked four.

Raleigh said Harris' outing was just what his injury-plagued staff needed.

"It was probably one of the gutsiest performances I've seen in a long time," Raleigh said. "(Harris) probably gave up some more hits but we didn't have anybody else (to pitch). We're so decimated right now. He was just gutsy."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.