Tennessee opened its 2020 campaign on the right note this weekend, sweeping Western Illinois. Let’s take a look back at a weekend with plenty of positives before looking forward to a week that will provide the Vols their first major test of the season.

1. -Pitching picks up where it left off- It wasn’t until the fifth game of the 2019 season that Tennessee’s pitching staff gave up a run. It was a sign of things to come for a unit that would be the strength of last season’s squad.

Tennessee’s pitching staff would make it only two games without giving up a run to open the 2020 season, but the Vols still impressed on the mound this weekend.

Tennessee was without ace Garrett Crochet and bullpen arm Will Heflin. Also, Camden Sewell didn’t see action, but that didn’t stop the Vols from posting a pair of shutouts and giving up just four runs on the weekend.

Chad Dallas opened the weekend strong posting five scoreless innings, surrendering only a single hit. Dallas didn’t blow you away with his velocity, but he threw 47 strikes to just 19 balls. The junior college transfer likely won’t remain in a weekend starter role. However, it’s clear to see why Vitello likes him and he should be a nice piece for this rotation.

Saturday provided a first look at Chas Wallace, who seems to have locked down a weekend rotation spot after a strong offseason.

Wallace impressed, throwing 5.2 innings and giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out six.

The pair of blowout wins gave us a chance to see a couple of Tennessee’s new arms for the first time. Walter’s State transfer Kody Davidson and freshman Mark McLaughlin each pitched two innings and impressed.

Davidson allowed two hits and struck out three in his action while McLaughlin didn’t allow a baserunner.

Freshman Drew Gilbert impressed on the mound and at the plate, more on that later, in his debut. The Minnesota native struck out the side in his lone inning pitched Saturday.

Junior college transfer Jackson Leathe got the start on Sunday and flashed some incredible stuff, striking out 12 in 4.1 innings. Leathe did run into some trouble allowing three earned runs due to a pair of walks and hits.

Still, it’s easy to see that Leathe has the stuff to be a weekend starter. He’ll have to be more consistent to lock down that spot, but he flashed his high upside Sunday.

2. -Power in the bats- Power hitting was not one of Tennessee’s strengths in 2019. The Vols had just three players hit more than five homeruns and ranked 10th in the SEC with 53 homers.

Tennessee opened the 2020 season showcasing some pop, hitting six homers from five different Vols.

Tennessee’s core group of sophomores’ that will be regular fixtures in the lineup, Jake Rucker, Max Ferguson, Trey Lipscomb, Austin Knight, Connor Pavolony and Christian Scott, combined to hit just three homeruns last season. That same group had five this weekend as Rucker, Ferguson and Pavolony went deep once and Knight went deep twice.

If Tennessee wants to make another jump in 2020 it needs more offensive production and if it’s going to get more offensive production that group is going to lead the way.

Rucker, Ferguson, Knight and Lipscomb all look completely different after a full offseason of work with strength coach Quentin Eberhardt in the weight room.

Pavolony seems much more comfortable starting his second season, even noting Friday that he couldn’t stop shaking in his first start as a freshman. The catcher went 2-for-6 with a walk in the opening weekend and could provide a huge boost for the Vols’ offense this season.

Tennessee’s power didn’t just come from the long ball as the Vols had seven doubles in the opening weekend.

Tennessee’s 45 runs were its most in a series since 2005, and while the competition wasn’t great what the Vols did at the plate is still impressive.

For some reference on Tennessee’s level of competition, Western Illinois went 22-31, 16-14 in conference, and ranked 245 out of 297 in ERA a year ago.

3. -New faces gives Vitello options- Tony Vitello talked in the preseason about his team having a lot of parity and depth. It showed on an opening weekend where 14 different players started.

Fourteen different Tennessee players recorded hits with 12 players getting multiple hits and 15 reaching bases.

Newcomers Drew Gilbert and Liam Spence starred in their opening weekend. Gilbert went 3 of 4 at the plate hitting a double and driving in three runs while Spence reached base on 5 of 11 at-bats while driving in three runs from the shortstop spot.

Freshman Jordan Beck only recorded two hits on the weekend, but the Huntsville native batted in the three hole in his two starts. Vitello and Co. are high on the outfielder and think he has the talents to be a SEC contributor from day one.

The other thing that will provide Vitello with some flexibility is the number of guys that can play multiple positions. Just this weekend, Tennessee had seven players play different positions, and that doesn’t even include Ferguson who may be the most versatile guy on the team.

Regular fixtures in the lineup like Al Soularie, Rucker, Lipscomb and Knight all can play multiple spots. With as many options as Vitello has to begin with, coupled with the versatility of his team, competition for innings could continue on throughout the season. A luxury Tennessee didn’t have last season.

1. Does Crochet give it a go Friday?

Vol fans are anxious to see Tennessee’s preseason All-American and projected top-10 draft pick Garrett Crochet.

Crochet didn’t start opening weekend due to arm soreness, but Vitello stated that the injury was nothing more than that.

Friday would provide as fun as a debut matchup as you could ask for as Tennessee will take on No. 6 Texas Tech in the first game of the Round Rock Classic. The Red Raiders impressed in their opening weekend going 4-0 and outscoring opponents 65-11.

I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Crochet giving it a go, but it sounds like Tennessee will air on the side of caution and make sure he’s ready for the conference slate.

"It could,” Vitello said on if Crochet could miss more than just opening day. “What we did as a precautionary thing was to access the deal and it is just soreness, nothing more. Having said that, we sat him down for a few days to recover. So now he has to pick the ball back up as he's done and start playing catch and retrogress with everything.

“I'm in no rush. I've been there before with a guy like this whose a junior leader. People will probably be frustrated with me, including him, on how conservative we're going to be, but we're going to look out for him first. We also want him pitching big big innings in May, less concerned with the innings in February."

2. Where does Camden Sewell fit in?

Tennessee’s sophomore pitcher had a strong freshman season, posting a 4-1 record and 2.18 ERA.

The Cleveland, Tennessee native seemed poised to jump to a weekend starter spot before back injuries plagued him during the offseason.

Vitello said in the preseason they could use him in a plethora of ways, but it’s hard to see him not ending up as a starter.

Sewell didn’t pitch during the opening weekend furthering questions about where he’ll be used.

If Crochet indeed doesn’t pitch Friday, I wonder if Vitello elects to go with Sewell over Dallas. Sewell has more high-end stuff than Dallas. Sewell has pitched in big moments too, including an elimination start in the Chapel Hill regional.

Throwing Dallas into the fire against a loaded Texas Tech lineup could be a tough ask for a guy that’s made just one division one appearance.

Soularie has a big week

It was a quiet opening weekend for Tennessee’s preseason All-SEC and All-American outfielder Al Soularie.

The junior was suspended for the opener before going 0-for-9 with three walks. It was a similar start to Andre Lipcius last year who didn’t record a hit the first weekend of the season before exploding to hit .308 and 17 home runs on the season.

I’d expect a similar bounce back from Soularie and I think that starts this week.

After a midweek bout with Charlotte, Tennessee heads to Texas to play the Red Raiders, Houston and No. 17 Stanford.

Soularie was as cold blooded as they come in his first season in Knoxville driving in 46 runs, including 22 in the conference slate.

The junior will also be returning to his home state as the weekend event falls 168 miles east of his hometown of Houston.

After a slow first weekend, a return to his home state and a chance to compete against a pair of in-state programs that passed on Soularie out of high school, I’d expect a big weekend from No. 1 in orange.