With capacity limits off Lindsey Nelson Stadium, No. 5 Tennessee (38-11, 17-7 SEC) is set for a massive showdown with top-ranked Arkansas (37-9, 17-7 SEC).
With both teams tied atop the SEC standings, tickets for all three games sold out in under 36 hours as Tennessee looks to get one step closer to its first regular season SEC Championship since 1995.
While there’s just two weeks left in the regular season, Tony Vitello’s approach stays consistent on the task at hand. Consistency has been a strength of both Arkansas and Tennessee all season. The Vols have lost just one series while splitting a four game set while Arkansas hasn’t lost a series all season.
“It’s ultimately how you’re judged every year and the committee when they sit down they look at your series record,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. “Because we have a talented group and they kind of have a will to win we’ve been able to win the majority of our series but even to do that is difficult so to string together a deal where you haven’t lost any, I don’t know what you can relate that too— throwing a no hitter in the big leagues or anything like that— but in this league you’re certainly making your own breaks and maybe even catching a break here or there.”
Arkansas’ brings the best offense in the SEC, if not the nation, to Knoxville this weekend. The Razorbacks lead college baseball in runs and have power up-and-down their lineup with five players who have hit 10 or more home runs. Arkansas’ 79 home runs rank second in the nation.
“This league is a power league,” Vitello said. “Power arms, incredibly strong bats and bodies that are just fast moving, down the line on defense, you name it. They’ve got that one through nine. There’s not a lot of breathing room in the lineup and you see big physical guys and guys that can hit the ball a long way and then what’s kind of become
their montra before they get to Kevin Kopps is a lot of power arms.”
Matt Goodheart leads the Razorbacks in both batting average and home runs. The senior is hitting .310 with 12 homers and 33 RBIs. However, junior Christian Franklin may be Arkansas’ most dynamic player. The outfielder is hitting .305 with 10 home runs, 25 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
Junior Brady Slavens is hitting .301 with 10 homers and a team high 52 RBIs. Slavens 52 RBIs is good for third in the SEC. Freshman Caden Wallace is one of the few newcomers that has carved out a major role for the Razorbacks, hitting .303 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs. Impressively, Slavens has been better in SEC play, hitting .327.
Robert Moore rounds out the Arkansas’ players with 10 home runs or more. The sophomore has gone deep 11 times this season while hitting .289 with 45 RBIs.
Tennessee’s pitching staff is faced with a challenging task and matchup this weekend. The Vols’ philosophy is to throw strikes, challenge hitters and see where the chips fall. A weekend against perhaps the nation’s best lineup should be a tremendous measuring
stick three weeks before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas isn’t as lethal on the mound, ranking fifth in the SEC with a 4.01 team ERA, but the Razorbacks aren’t short on strong arms and have the nation’s best reliever.
LHP Patrick Wicklander will get the ball for the Razorbacks in the series opener Friday. The junior has been fantastic this season, posting a 4-1 record and 1.69 ERA. Wicklander has 58 strikeouts on the season with just 14 walks. Wicklander will match up against Tennessee’s Chad Dallas.
Sophomore Peyton Pallette is set to start for Arkansas Saturday. Despite 10 starts on the season, Palette has just three results, posting a 1-2 record and 4.01 ERA. Palette has recorded 65 strikeouts and 19 walks in just 51.2 innings pitched. The Benton, Arkansas native will match up against Tennessee left hander Will Heflin.
Arkansas has yet to decide on its Sunday starter but RHP Caleb Bolden has earned that spot the last two weekends. Bolden has posted a 2-0 record and 4.88 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched. The redshirt junior has had more struggles in SEC play though, posting a 6.30 ERA in 10 appearances.
LHP Lael Lockheart has started six games for Arkansas in SEC play, posting a 6.98 ERA in 19.1 innings of SEC play. Lockheart has also dealt with walk problems, surrendering eight free passes in conference play and 15 overall. Whoever starts for the Razorbacks Sunday will match up with Tennessee freshman Blade Tidwell.
Despite some strong starting arms, Arkansas’ best pitching weapon comes out of the bullpen. RHP Kevin Kopps leads the nation with a 0.72 ERA and is first in the SEC with a 0.87 WHIP. With zero starts this season, Kopps has pitched 49.2 innings in 22 appearances. Arkansas will use him multiple times on the weekend for multiple innings.
Despite being a fastball that sits low 90s, Kopps is an elite put out pitcher, striking out 83 batters on the season.
“He’s a guy that comes from humble beginnings when it comes to rankings and recruiting or anything like that,” Vitello said of Kopps. “He’s turned himself into a guy. He’s like a lot of these guys, extended one year because of COVID but also he had surgery so to me those kind of balance out. He’s the type of guy if you give him enough
time to figure it out, it could be anything, he’s going to figure it out. Seeing it from an opponents eyes, even though I know Kevin and am happy for him, you don’t like him having too much time because he’ll evolve into what he has. He’s a jack of all trades out of the bullpen. I’m sure late in the season if they had to start him they could. He
can go four innings and bounce back over the course of the weekend. … With Kevin they have a huge weapon and they’re not afraid to use or unload that weapon at any point. I’m sure we’ll see him at some point this weekend.”
Expect LHP Caden Monke (4.07 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched) and RHP Zebulon Vermillian (4.70 ERA in 38.1 innings) to play a major role out of Arkansas’ bullpen as well.
Friday night’s series opener is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed on SEC Network+. Saturday’s matchup is set for noon ET and will be broadcast on SEC Network. Sunday’s series finale is set for 1 p.m. ET and can be streamed on SEC Network+.
