Tennessee has been chasing Vanderbilt in baseball for years.
Tim Corbin has built the Commodores' baseball program into the standard of the sport while the Vols haven't kept up. Corbin, who is now in his 19th season at Vanderbilt, has only seen three Tennessee teams finish better than fourth in the SEC East.
Corbin is 36-20 against the Vols during his time in Nashville and has won 12 of the 17 series between the in-state rivals.
Two of the three good Tennessee teams that Corbin has seen have belonged to Vols skipper Tony Vitello. The fifth-year Vols skipper guided UT to a third place finish in the East in 2019 before winning the division last season in 2021.
Times have changed within the state of Tennessee. The Commodores are still as talented as they've ever been, but the Vols have become one of the country's best in college baseball.
When Vitello's Vols head to Nashville this weekend as the No. 1 team in the country for a three-game series with No. 9 Vanderbilt, it will be the best Tennessee baseball team Corbin has seen during his tenure.
“I think we’re in a position where we’re trying to win as many SEC games as possible," Tony Vitello told the media following Wednesday's 11-1 win over Western Carolina. "The perspective I have is that it’s very similar to last weekend. I challenge Vol fans to look at Ole Miss’ old stadium in Oxford. The shell is very similar to ours and they’ve built that thing into a monster.
"The first pitch was talked about, the sellout was talked about, both teams having some rankings was talked about, so I think similar talk or juice going into this weekend. Hopefully the experience last weekend helps this weekend.”
Then-ranked No. 5 Tennessee swept previously top-ranked Ole Miss in Oxford last weekend to claim the No.1 ranking in the country. The Vols dominated the Rebels, outscoring them 26-7 over the course of three games.
There's no break in the SEC schedule, however. The Vols turn around and travel to Nashville this weekend for their annual date with No. 9 Vanderbilt, who will be ticked off following a lackluster series loss to South Carolina on Columbia.
“It’s an ultra-competitive environment and I think those are the best ones," Vols right-hander Blade Tidwell said. "Everybody would agree that this series is going to be one of the best of the year."
The Vols under Vitello have finally caught up to the gold standard that is Vanderbilt baseball.
Just look at the pitching matchups last year compared to this year. A season ago, the conversation centered around Vanderbilt stars Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter. This year it centers around Tennessee's three-headed monster of Chase Burns, Chase Dollander and Drew Beam.
"It’s just nice to know who your guys are," Vitello said. "And that their teammates believe in them and they like playing behind them. That’s certainly the case right out of the gate in Chase Burns.
"We miss Mr. (Chad) Dallas, but it’s kind of the same thing. When you start the series, you want a guy that can at least go into the fifth, give you a chance to win, maybe is capable of having an inning where he puts it on another team and all that good stuff. What I really like is when it’s a guy that the team likes playing behind. We’re fortunate enough to have that again this year.”
All eyes around college baseball will be on the Vols this weekend. It was the case last weekend in Oxford, and it'll be the case for a second consecutive weekend in Nashville as the Vols and Commodores square off in a top 10 matchup.
Although the Vols have arrived on the college baseball scene and are ready to prove that to Vanderbilt, they're also well-aware of what Corbin has accomplished in winning two National Championships.
"Any time we’ve interacted, he’s been nothing but kind to me," Vitello said of Corbin. "I’d be crazy to not have respect for him."
Game one on Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. They'll then play at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.
