After a disappointing 9-0 midweek loss at Charlotte, Tennessee returned home and swept UNC- Greensboro. The Vols outscored the Spartans 29-14 to end the pre- conference slate on a strong note.
Tennessee will face ETSU on Tuesday before traveling to Athens for the SEC opening series with Georgia.
Three Observations
1 —Offense starting to click a bit— Tennessee’s offense started to show better in last weekend’s sweep of Georgia State, scoring five or more runs in all three games. The Vols’ bats took it to another level this weekend though, totaling 29 runs as they outscored the Spartans 29-14.
Granted, UNCG had the worst pitching numbers of any weekend opponent Tennessee has faced this season, but the Spartans are a solid team that entered the weekend with a 10-2 record and are far from a bottom feeder like Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Tennessee hit .373 as a team on the weekend while also recording a .451 on-base percentage and a .611 slugging percentage.
The Vols’ offense this weekend looked like the one we were expecting before the season and the main reason for that was the play of juniors Max Ferguson and Connor Pavolony.
After a very slow start to the season, Ferguson started to look more comfortable at the plate last week against Georgia State. This weekend he broke out, playing like the guy that earned preseason All-American accolades. Ferguson hit a team best .545 against UNCG including a homer and four total extra-base hits.
Pavolony started just two of the three games, but looked the best he has all season at the plate going 3-for-7 with a walk and two RBIs.
Time will tell how productive Tennessee’s lineup can be against SEC competition but they are clearly starting to head in the right direction as the Vols get set to open league play.
2 —No one is claiming the third weekend starter role— The starting pitching was a question mark entering the season and after four weekends remains one of the biggest facing this team.
Chad Dallas and Blade Tidwell have proven to be capable weekend starters, but Tony Vitello and Frank Anderson haven’t been able to find a reliable third arm.
Jackson Leath didn’t just appear to be that guy for Tennessee, but looked like potentially the best starting pitcher on the team. With Leath sidelined for most the season with a hamstring injury Tennessee has to turn to other options and they haven’t been able to find consistency to this point.
Elijah Pleasants started the season as the third weekend starter, but has struggled in two starts and while he’s been better out of the bullpen he’s still had his struggles there, including giving up a run and two hits in an inning in Saturday’s win over UNCG.
Mark McLaughlin has earned one start and was productive, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings. McLaughlin looked really strong again Saturday, this time out of the bullpen, stabilizing a UT team that was getting hit around. The sophomore allowed two runs in five innings, but doesn’t truly represent how well he pitched.
Will Heflin was elite in an emergency start against Georgia State, but struggled in his second start, getting knocked out of the game after giving up six runs in two innings.
Maybe Jason Rackers can earn the spot when he’s fully healthy or Camden Sewell can improve and grab the reins, but through the pre-conference slate, no one has taken the spot and run with it.
Sean Hunley is another option Tennessee could turn to, but it’s clear Vitello and company are reluctant to move such a reliable weapon out of the bullpen
When Vitello was asked about just that Saturday, he took the glass half full mindset and talked about the positives of continued competition. Still, it’s hard not to see it as an issue Tennessee’s going to have to work around for the time being.
3 —Vitello rides with one lineup— Vitello praised his team’s depth in the preseason and started an abundance of lineups over the first few weeks of the season. This weekend, however, Vitello started the same lineup all three games, besides Jackson Greer starting behind the plate in game two.
Some of that is possibly just a reflection of the offense’s success this weekend but it’s hard to imagine some of that isn’t Vitello trimming things down to the guys he’s going to roll with most in SEC play.
He was rewarded with Tennessee’s lineup hitting well from the top-to-bottom for the first time this season. Just two players, Jordan Beck and Evan Russell, hit under .300 on the weekend while only Jake Rucker didn’t drive in a run.
It will be interesting to see which bench players end up on the wrong side of the proverbial “playing time” line. Pete Derkay grabbing control of the starting designated hitter spot also won’t help those guys on the line like Trae Lipscomb, Kyle Booker or Logan Steenstra.
Two Questions
1. How big of a role does Jackson Greer carve out?
ETSU transfer Jackson Greer has been a strong addition to Tennessee’s roster. The catcher has been an upgrade at the plate this season over Connor Pavolony’s backup last season, Landon Gray.
Greer has hit better than Pavolony on the season, recording a .250 average and .406 on-base percentage with three RBIs.
So how big of a role does the former Central High School standout earn?
This week it may be a bit limited as Vitello said on Sunday that Greer was dealing with a slight leg injury and may not have been available if they needed him, but when he’s completely healthy you’d have to imagine he will have a solid role.
Greer has started in four of Tennessee’s 13 weekend games and has also earned starts as a designated hitter.
“It’s kind of picked up where we left off last year with Pav and Landon,” Vitello said. “Pav has inserted himself— as you saw him throw out a few guys this weekend— as a team leader, and call him No. 1 if you want for now, but Jackson’s a competitive guy and loves to be on the field. It’s kind of 1A and 1B and we plan to split things close to 50/50.”
One would think Greer will be entrenched behind Pavolony the rest of the season, but the senior could earn additional playing time if he can keep up his production at the plate.
2. Can Vols continue to capitalize on the base paths?
Tennessee’s base running had been average at best entering the weekend, even having some really bad moments leading to simple mistakes.
Besides Ferguson tagging up from first to second with the runners ahead of him not tagging up, Tennessee’s base running was much better on the weekend.
The Vols stole nine bases on the weekend, including a double steal home Saturday. The mark is just four less than the Vols had combined up to that point in the season
While I don’t think you’ll see Tennessee steal nine bases in a weekend again this season, I do think the Vols’ stolen base numbers will go up. Some of that will just be the nature of Max Ferguson hitting better and getting on base more. The junior is Tennessee’s best bag stealing threat, recording three this weekend and seven so far this season.
Stealing bases is just part of it though, with Tennessee’s offense not repeating its home run barrage from a season ago, the Vols are going to have to play good situational baseball in SEC play.
Whether that’s bunting a runner over or not running yourselves out of scoring chances, Tennessee needs to do the little things right to have consistent success in SEC play.
One Prediction
This team will go as Blade Tidwell does
Tidwell blew Tennessee’s coaches away with his talent in the fall and preseason, hence why the true-freshman was a weekend starter from the jump. The Loretto, Tennessee native hasn’t been excellent in games but he’s been solid and it’s clear he’s getting more comfortable week by week.
In 20 innings of action, Tidwell has a 1.80 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. The raw talent is clearly there and Tidwell has a higher ceiling than any other arm on Tennessee’s roster, but that’s not the only reason he’s going to be immensely important.
I’ve already discussed Tennessee’s issues nailing down a third starter. On top of that, Dallas isn’t an elite Friday night SEC starter.
Don’t get me wrong, Dallas is a good weekend starter and obviously one of UT’s best arms. He just isn’t as good as the best pitchers in the league and on more Friday night’s than not, the Vols could be facing an uphill pitching battle— albeit mostly a very small hill.
That puts pressure on Tennessee to win a lot of games that Tidwell is pitching, whether that’s Saturday or Sunday, and why I believe the freshman is Tennessee’s most important player.
If Tidwell can replicate the consistency he’s shown in non conference play while giving the Vols just a few more innings per outing I think Tennessee has a chance to host a regional.
If not, I don’t see Tennessee playing postseason baseball at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
