The Tennessee Baseball team is breaking out something that hasn’t been seen in a long, long time.
When No. 1 Tennessee takes on Tennessee Tech this Tuesday at Smokies Stadium, the Vols will be using wooden bats for the first time in “recent memory”.
According to Tennessee Communications, “the Vols and Smokies played an exhibition game back on April 4, 2006, which is believed to be the last time the team used wood bats in a game.”
Wooden bats are introduced into the sport at the major league level while college players use metal bats. According to Stadium Reviews, “professional players only use wooden bats to hit for the safety of players’ reactions and fans able to protect themselves from a hit baseball.”
In addition, aluminum bats are significantly more durable than wooden bats. Despite the extremely rare occurrence during the Tennessee/Missouri series in Knoxville last weekend, wooden bats are far more likely to break when connecting with the ball, thus usually sending the broken bat flying into the field of play.
Tennessee’s high-powered offense will play in Smokies Stadium this Tuesday as a cross-organization promotion by both sides.
The Vols are getting it done on both the offensive and defensive sides of the game. Tennessee’s offense currently leads the nation in the long ball with 79 home runs hit in 32 games, while the Vols’ pitching staff is leading the country in ERA (earned run average) at 1.89.
Tennessee and Tennessee Tech have previously met on the diamond this season. The game though, played through harsh rain conditions, was stopped in the fifth inning with Tennessee leading 5-4. According to Tennessee Communications, the game will not be made up.
The Vols will take their 23-game win streak, along with their new wooden bats, into Smokies Stadium on Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. ET.
