In 2021, Tennessee hosted Arkansas in a game that had no lack of emotion.

After the teams split the opening two games in Knoxville, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello confronted Dave Van Horn in a heated exchange on Sunday. The pair were separated following the Razorbacks' game three win to take the series but their disdain was now public.

The coaches have a strong familiarity with each other due to time spent in the same dugout. Vitello was an assistant coach at Arkansas from 2014-17 before taking the job at Tennessee.

Despite this unfriendly history, Vitello was complimentary of Van Horn and his team ahead of their meeting this weekend.

"The guy (Van Horn) is a winner," said Vitello. "He knows how to manage a game and certainly has an approach with the pitching staff that he’ll use so those consistencies are factors that are going to be there consistently every year.

"But I think this year they have a bunch of guys that were waiting their time. I know they lost as many guys as we did, as Mississippi did but it’s not like they’re filling them in with guys that aren’t any good. Couple portal guys. One from Kansas themselves and one from Creighton that’s a big ole strong guy and then they have a couple lefties on the mound that are really good, too. We’ll look at the much bigger picture but they are consistently one of the best programs in the league for a good reason.”

Although the 2021 series was heated, Vitello doesn't expect any more emotion than a typical SEC set.

He notes the difference in roster for both teams as two years have passed.

"It’s certainly a storyline for the fans," said Vitello. "That’s what makes this league so great. So there’s some things there for people to talk about and it may rear their head at certain points in the weekend, you could say maybe that’s because of this or that."

Although the teams and their leaders may have moved on, it is unlikely either fan base has forgotten.

Any game in Baum-Walker Stadium is rowdy, but welcoming a disliked Vols team that has previously gotten on the Razorbacks' bad side is a recipe for an amped-up atmosphere.

Tennessee is familiar with this type of environment, though. The Vols have already traveled to the likes of LSU to play in front of sold-out and high-energy crowds.

"It’s a lively park with the fans," said Vitello. "You’re going to have as big of a fanbase as anybody has. They know the game well and are going to try and make it tough on the opponent. No place is going to be the same but we’ve kind of looked at what that’s like in Arizona at Grand Canyon and in Baton Rouge."

If playing the No. 5 team in the country (D1baseball.com) on the road wasn't tough enough, the Vols have already had road struggles.

Tennessee is an abysmal 1-6 in true road games and 1-1 at neutral sites. This features a 1-5 road record within SEC play.

For the Vols to see success in Fayetteville, Vitello says the team needs to cut out distractions.

He thinks that the team needs to stay focused on baseball and not make it tougher than it needs to be.

"Just cut out the – I can say BS I think," said Vitello. " ... Get to the essentials. What do I need to do to get myself ready to play and what do I need to do to help my buddy next to me get ready to play?

"It’s already hard enough, this game, and then you do it at the highest amateur level in this league. Now, it’s super hard. So why are you going to tack on all this other stuff? Well, I can see why. There’s good reason. We could break it down by individual or break it down as our whole team. But, why do you have to make it tough?"

Tennessee will also have its hands full with Arkansas' dangerous lineup and unit of impressive pitchers.

Leading the way in the box is Jace Bohrofen who is hitting at a .452 average and has slugged eight home runs.

The first game will take place on Friday at 8 p.m. ET airing on SEC Network. It is unclear if Chase Dollander will get the ball but he has started the opening game of each series this year.

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