#24 Iowa Shuts Down Michigan In 81-72 Victory
Following a fast, 8-0, start to the season, life gets significantly harder for Tennessee baseball this weekend as they travel to Houston to compete in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic.
After facing no power five opponents the first two weeks of the season, the Vols will face a trio of Big 12 foes including the team that knocked them out of the 2021 College World Series.
“For us, it’s about — you get a little taste of a multi-team environment,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. “Has the regional like feel even though it’s not going to play out like that. And you get to size yourself up, how you are against these other high-quality teams and playing in a neutral site. … The first time you go out on the road you get even closer and get to spend time with each other.”
All three games will be broadcast on MLB Network this weekend and can also be streamed at Astros.com.
Now, let’s preview the Vols’ opponents in the Lone Star State.
No. 1 Texas (9-0), Friday at 8 p.m. ET
Longhorns Overview: Texas returns six of its nine position player starters and two of three weekend starting pitchers from last season’s 50-17 team that went 3-2 at the College World Series.
Texas boasts a balanced offense, but it’s the Longhorns’ pitching staff that has them atop the polls early in the season. The Longhorns are the only team in the country with a better team earned run average than Tennessee.
David Pierce’s sixth Texas team enters the weekend unbeaten having outscored opponents, 72-10. The Longhorns swept Alabama last weekend in Austin.
Texas Bats To Know: Texas returns its two most productive bats from last season’s team in Ivan Melendez and Mitchell Daly.
Melendez hit .319 last season with a team-high 13 long balls and despite hitting just .250 through nine games, has two home runs and a team-high 12 RBIs.
Daly is off to a slow start this season, hitting just .200 after hitting .316 last season.
Redshirt-sophomore outfielder Eric Kennedy is off to a blazing start in what he hopes is a breakout season. Kennedy is hitting .414 with a 1.052 OPS in the first few weeks of the season.
The strength of Texas’ offense on the young season has been its depth. Six Longhorn starters are hitting over .300 on the season and five players have between four and six extra-base hits.
The Longhorns also rank in the nation’s top 15 at reaching base on balls.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Chase Burns (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP Pete Hansen (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tennessee freshman Chase Burns gets his first taste of the big show after dominating Georgia Southern and Iona in his first two appearances.
The former Beech High School standout will certainly get less run support this weekend as he faces off against one of the nation’s best arms.
Hansen was one of the nation’s most effective starters last season, posting a 9-1 record, 1.88 ERA and an 0.88 WHIP. The left-handed arm has picked up where he left off, not allowing a run in his first 11 innings pitched.
The Vols’ were worse against left-handed pitching than right-handed pitching last season. Hansen is perhaps the best lefty they’ll see on the mound all season.
Baylor (4-4), Saturday at 4 p.m. ET
Bears Overview: Baylor is likely the worst team Tennessee will see in Houston, but the Bears hit the ground running with their schedule — unlike Tennessee.
Maryland swept Baylor in Waco the opening weekend of the season before the Bears turned around and won two out of three against a strong Duke team last weekend.
Baylor was a below average Big 12 team a season ago, recording a 31-20 and 11-13 conference record.
Baylor Bats To Know: Unlike Texas, depth and balance is not a strength of this Baylor team. The Bears have just four everyday players that are hitting over .250 and three hitting under .215 on the young season.
Transfer Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo has led the way for Baylor on the young season, hitting .286 with four runs batted in and a pair of doubles.
Jack Pineda leads the Bears in hits while bolstering a .278 batting average and a team-high three extra-base hits.
Playing in just five games, Harrison Caley has impressed, hitting .316 while driving in a pair of runs.
Power hitting has not been one of Baylor’s strengths. The Bears have just two home runs as they enter the weekend event at a larger major league baseball stadium.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Chase Dollander (2-0, 2.70 ERA) vs RHP Jake Jackson (1-1, 2.25 ERA)
Dollander has been the most impressive Tennessee pitcher in the young season, bolstering a fastball that sits 95-97 mph and an elite ability to throw offspeed pitches for strikes. That’s led to the Georgia Southern transfer striking out 21 batters in 10 innings pitched.
Jackson has impressed in his first two starts at Baylor after earning All-Mountain West honors at Nevada a season ago. Jackson posted a 5-4 record and a 5.45 ERA (seventh best in conference) a season ago with Nevada.
The senior has surrendered four walks and two home runs in 12 innings pitched while striking out 11 batters.
Oklahoma (5-2), Sunday at noon ET
Sooners Overview: The Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic is the second early season event Oklahoma has played in after winning two out of three games in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown the opening weekend of the season.
The Sooners have wins over Auburn and Michigan with their two losses coming against Arizona and Northwestern State.
Oklahoma finished 27-28 (11-13 Big 12) last season and was picked to finish sixth this season before jumping out to a strong start.
Oklahoma Bats To Know:
Like Baylor, top-to-bottom depth is not the strength of Oklahoma’s offense. But, unlike the Bears, the Sooners have a handful of players hitting at an extremely high level to open the season.
Grahan Peyton leads Oklahoma with nine hits on the young season, posting a .310 batting average and two of the Sooners’ three home runs on the young season.
Blake Robertson is reaching base 48.4% of the time, hitting .310 with a team-high eight walks. The redshirt-sophomore infielder is four-for-four on stolen bases this season.
Diego Muniz and Jackson Nicklaus are both off to strong starts to the season. Each is hitting over .375 but they’ve combined for just eight starts so far.
Oklahoma has four everyday starters that are hitting .200 or worse so far this season. Despite playing just seven games, Oklahoma is in the nation’s top 15 in stolen bases and has six players that have two or more steals this season.
This should be a strong early season test for new Tennessee catcher Evan Russell.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Drew Beam (1-0 0.00 ERA) vs LHP Chazz Martinez (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
The Sunday pitching matchup will be a battle of two arms getting their first big-time college baseball action.
Beam has impressed in 6.1 innings of action, essentially serving as Tennessee’s opener the first two Sundays of the season. Oklahoma should be a good gauge for just how advanced the former Blackman High School standout’s stuff is.
Martinez has allowed just eight baserunners in 11.2 innings of action this season and the redshirt-sophomore struck out 14 batters in his seven inning outing against Northwestern State.The left-handed pitcher transferred to Oklahoma from Orange Coast College where he posted a 4.50 ERA.
