Tennessee baseball is looking to extend its four-game winning streak this weekend when it hosts Mississippi State to Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols are coming off their best weekend of the season but still need to collect more wins to improve its NCAA Tournament resume. Mississippi State is struggling for the second straight season and enters the weekend 6-12 in SEC play but winners of two of its last three series.
Here’s everything you need to know about the weekend series between Tennessee and Mississippi State.
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Game Times — No. 24 Tennessee (27-14, 8-10 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (24-7, 6-12 SEC)
Game One (Thursday): 7 p.m. ET
Game Two (Friday): 6:30 p.m. ET
Game Three (Saturday): 2 p.m. ET
How To Watch
Game One: SEC Network. WatchESPN stream
Game Two: SEC Network+ stream
Game Three: ESPNU. WatchESPN stream
What Tony Vitello Said About The Series
On how confident he is that the recent performances will carry into this weekend’s series against Mississippi State
“I like being at home, I can tell you that. The thing I’m encouraged by is they’ve kind of started to create some trends. We were talking about that after the game on Sunday, so my confidence lies in the fact that if they kind of continue down the path they are of the team bonding thing or chemistry or environment — everything that goes under that umbrella. Then, I will feel much more confident in the dugout, so that’s kind of where my focus is. Them maintaining the attitude and the energy that they’ve had. It’s a little different. It’s a quirky group, fun. But when they’re more relaxed and kind of playing their game, not trying to be pleasers, then it’s a group that makes me feel good about our chances. Then of course going into any game, including if you look at these guy’s box scores, you can’t predict the score, but you can feel good about it.”
On what he knows about Mississippi State
“Frank [Anderson] and I were talking back in the locker room… there’s a good handful of hitters that were a part of that group last year. We finished there so it feels a little more recent––I know that sounds crazy––but it was the last weekend of the year, so it feels a little more recent. You have memory of those five or six guys that are returners in that lineup. I do know that they play a handful of young guys too, though, a good amount. So it’ll be interesting to size up that position size group. And then you know you got the pitcher, ambidextrous pitcher––I’m glad I didn’t say amphibious––the ambidextrous pitcher and some other guys, too, that we know from the recruiting grounds. It’s a school that we run into, really all the SEC schools, that we run into often, so a lot of these names when you go back over the roster on the scouting report, it pops back in your head and you know a little bit about them from that stuff.”
Projected Pitching Matchups (via Tennessee Game Notes)
Game One — RHP Andrew Lindsey (0-2, 2.81 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 41 K, 10 BB, 32 IP) vs. RHP Cade Smith (1-1, 4.91 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 22 K, 13 BB, 22 IP)
Game Two — RHP Chase Dollander (5-4, 3.81 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 80 K, 19 BB, 54.1 IP) vs. TBA
Game Three — RHP Drew Beam (5-2, 3.40 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 46 K, 15 BB, 47.2 IP) vs. BHP Jurrangelo Cijntje (3-2, 5.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 54 K, 26 BB, 40.1 IP)
Bats To Know
Tennessee
Blake Burke — .327 BA, .410 OBP 1.070 OPS, 14 HR, 20 XBH, 33 RBI
Jared Dickey — .309 BA, .380 OBP, .891 OPS, 8 HR, 15 XBH, 28 RBI
Dylan Dreiling — .324 BA, .427 OBP, 1.076 OPS, 5 HR, 12 XBH, 13 RBI
Christian Moore — .292 BA, .460 OBP, .960 OPS, 6 HR, 13 XBH, 26 RBI
Hunter Ensley — .302 BA, .407 OBP, .907 OPS, 5 HR, 9 XBH, 17 RBI
