Tennessee sent runner after runner gliding around the base paths, but the Vols did as much damage with the bats on their shoulders as they did swinging them.

Tennessee has refined its approach at the plate this season and has all ready seen the returns. Wednesday's home opener against Cincinnati was just the most recent example. Timely hitting along with seven walks and three hit by pitches helped Tennessee claim a 7-1 victory over the Bearcats and extend its early-season win streak to five.

“I go back to some of the leadership of this team,” Dave Serrano said. “Those guys have been doing that. Kind of like passing it down, passing the baton.

“This team has taken on a personality that they're going to battle through everything that we face.”

When associate head coach and hitting instructor Greg Bergeron resigned over the off-season Serrano brought former Tennessee assistant Larry Simcox back on staff as the hitting coach. The move has worked out so far. Tennessee hitters have been on a torrid streak as of late and the Vols are getting on base in every way possible. Tennessee had seven hits but Max Bartlett drew three walks and Chris Hall took two free passes to help put Vols on the bases.

Leadoff hitter Jeff Moberg, who's hitting over .500 seven games into the season, sparked a five-run Tennessee first inning with a leadoff single up the middle. Tennessee (6-1) went on to score four runs before the Bearcats recorded the first out. In that stretch, Nick Senzel and Vincent Jackson drew a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively, to load the bases. The Vols cashed in a few pitches later with a Jordan Rodgers' triple down the right field line.

Rodgers, who has a team-leading 16 RBIs, led off the third inning with a double to left and later scored on a wild pitch two batters later.

“We call it hit, hit, hit, take. You've got to go up there looking to swing, but if it's not your pitch (lay off),” Rodgers said. “It all goes back to trust. We're so relaxed as a unit right now and just clicking on all cylinders. When you're trusting yourself, trusting your teammates then seeing the ball big becomes a lot easier.”

Tennessee's bats were backed up by a stellar outing on the mound from freshman right hander Daniel Vasquez. In his first career start, Vasquez went five innings, striking out seven while giving up one run — a home run off the bat of Ryan Noda to leadoff the fifth.

Vasquez had retired nine straight before the Noda home run and immediately settled down after the long ball to keep the Bearcats (0-7) from mounting a rally. Senzel's infield single in the sixth got the run back following three walks issues by Cincinnati pitcher Jack Bergren to load the bases.

“I was really composed, relaxed out there,” Vasquez said. “I think that's a result of being out there on the road for a few weeks and getting some innings in. Teammates and coaches had trust in me, so I just tried to take that out there.”

Aaron Soto, Eric Freeman, Zach Reid and Steven Kane pieced together the final four frames for Tennessee, striking out a combined six, surrendering two hits and walking two. Tennessee's pitching staff combined to give up three hits.

“The most important thing for me is the walks,” Serrano said. “I don't really care about how many hits we're giving up, it's about commanding the strike zone. I think that's what set the tone for us.”

Tennessee's win over Cincinnati was quickly subdued by the news that junior pitcher Kyle Serrano is likely lost to a season-ending elbow injury.

After visiting with doctors, Serrano learned that the ligament in his pitching elbow hass detached from the bone and will, according to Dave Serrano, likely require Tommy John surgery.

Dave Serrano said they will have it reevaluated on Monday.

“It's a part of life,” Dave Serrano said. “He's handled it extremely well but he's disappointed for his team.

“He'll be back and he'll be back in our uniform next year and be pitching for us.”

Serrano was dealing with irritation and inflammation in his right elbow after his start against Memphis on Feb. 20. Serrano skipped a start this past week and had the nagging injury looked at by doctors.

“It is a ligament but it's not torn,” Dave Serrano said. “I know that for a fact. If he does have a surgery it will probably be Tommy John, but it's not torn. It's pulled away from the bone.”

Serrano's injury alters the trajectory of Tennessee's pitching staff going forward. Serrano was in line to be one of the Vols weekend starters coming off a sophomore season where he pitched in 22 games and made eight starts. He was 5-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 54.1 innings pitched.

In his lone appearance this season against Memphis in the season-opening series, Serrano started and gave up five runs, one earned, in 3.2 innings while striking out three and walking four.

“We probably just lost 70-80 innings by losing him,” Dave Serrano said. “Someone like Daniel Vasquez and someone else that doesn't even know yet are going to have to gobble up those innings and be effective.”

Vasquez, a freshman from El Cajon, Calif., made his first career start in the Vols 7-1 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. The right hander threw five innings, giving up one run and striking out seven. He had previously made two relief appearances this season but had yet to throw a complete inning.

Junior Hunter Martin made a start during the Vols most recent weekend trip to play in the Grand Canyon University Classic. Martin threw four innings of shut out baseball in Tennessee's 20-1 drubbing of Central Michigan. As a sophomore he was 1-3 in six starts. He has a total of six wins in 19 career starts.

Zach Warren and Andy Cox will likely be two of Tennessee’s weekend starters once conference play begins on March 18 against Ole Miss. Cox, a senior, has 19 career starts and Warren, a sophomore, made five starts as a freshman.