Tennessee baseball: As Vols turn corner, tests remain on schedule
Tennessee emerged from its weekend series against No. 4 Vanderbilt with a fresh perspective and some much-needed hope.
In a three day span, the Vols learned to overcome mistakes and cold bats, flipping the script offensively with three critical home runs, including Griffin Merritt’s walk-off solo blast to beat the Commodores in extra innings on Friday. In the next two games, Tennessee looked like last season’s team, thumping Vanderbilt in run-rule fashion on Saturday and then very nearly doing it again in a 10-5 win in Game 3 on Sunday.
Now the Vols (26-14, 8-10 SEC) enter further into the back half of conference play with a world of momentum. Once drifting further away from the postseason picture, Tennessee is right back in it.
But tests remain.
The Vols’ latest stretch—which started with a road series at No. 1 LSU, included top five opponents in Florida and Arkansas and was bookended by Vanderbilt—is behind them. Some favorable matchups remain, but so do more ranked showdowns and even a rendezvous with a seemingly surging SEC team on the road.
Here is a look at the remainder of Tennessee’s regular season schedule.
Bellarmine
When: Tuesday, April 25
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 11-29
Outlook: Tennessee's last midweek contest marked arguably its lowest point of the season. The Vols were beaten soundly by a struggling Tennessee Tech team, which marked their fourth-straight loss. Tennessee responded by sweeping Vanderbilt and hopes to ride that momentum into another midweek matchup with Bellarmine, which has lost seven of its last eight games.
Mississippi State
When: April 27-29
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 23-17, 6-12 SEC
Outlook: The Bulldogs are just two years removed from winning a College World Series but are struggling six games behind .500 over halfway through SEC play. Mississippi State has won just two conference series and were on the cusp of another last weekend before Auburn came from behind to win 12-11 in the rubber match. This is a series Tennessee should win, and possibly sweep to get back to or over .500 in the conference.
Wofford
When: Tuesday, May 2
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 29-10
Outlook: On paper, this is Tennessee toughest remaining midweek game. The Terriers are currently tied for first place in the Southern Conference standings and have Power Five wins over Georgia Tech and Michigan State and lost to Georgia by just two runs. Wofford will play No. 2 Wake Forest just three days before playing the Vols, too.
Georgia
When: May 5-7
Where: Foley Field | Athens, Georgia
Record: 23-17, 7-11 SEC
Outlook: A lot could change between now and this series that is still two weeks away, but Georgia is trending up at the right time. Like Tennessee, the Bulldogs have struggled through conference play but earned a critical sweep of Arkansas last weekend. Georgia very nearly took a series from Florida the week before that, giving up leads in each of the last two games. Charlie Condon has been on a tear, too, tied for third in the league in home runs with 18 and fourth in slugging percentage at .857.
Austin Peay
When: Tuesday, May 9
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 21-20
Outlook: Another winnable midweek game. The Governors are playing better after a rough start, winning 11 games over the last month. The matchup is sandwiched between a critical juncture, though with Georgia the weekend before an a showdown with a ranked Kentucky team at home just three days later.
No. 15 Kentucky
When: May 12-14
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 30-9, 11-7 SEC
Outlook: Kentucky shockingly took two of three from Tennessee in Lexington last season and the Wildcats have been one of the better teams in the eastern division in 2023. Kentucky began conference play 9-1 but have lost three-straight series to Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M with a midweek against Louisville and series against Vanderbilt and South Carolina coming up. A lot will be learned about the Wildcats over the next couple of weeks.
Belmont
When: Tuesday, May 16
Where: Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville
Record: 20-21
Outlook: The Vols' final non-conference tune-up before its final series of the regular season and the SEC Tournament. The Bruins won 39 games last season but are a game behind .500 and losers of nine of their last 11. Tennessee won last season's meeting in Knoxville, 18-0.
No. 3 South Carolina
When: May 18-20
Where: Founders Park | Columbia, South Carolina
Record: 34-6, 13-4
Outlook: The Gamecocks have a claim as the league's best team after sweeping previously No. 3 Florida, handing the Gators their first conference series loss of the season. South Carolina also split two games with top-ranked LSU earlier this season. Through 17 SEC games, the Gamecocks are top five in a number of statistical categories, including slugging percentage (.562), on base percentage (.431) runs scored (374) and RBIs (355). They're also an impressive 24-1 at home.
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