Tennessee baseball did something last weekend they hadn’t done all season long: win a road series.
It wasn’t their best series win of the season, but it was arguably the most crucial, as beating South Carolina put the Vols in a solid position to potentially host an NCAA Regional.
Hosting a regional is extra significant for Tennessee, who were 33-5 at home this season and just 4-12 on the road. While beating the Gamecocks in Columbia was a huge first step to achieving the gaol of hosting, the job is not finished.
There is a log jam of five SEC teams jockeying to host a regional: Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina.
All have 16 SEC wins outside of Auburn (17), and all are relatively close in RPI outside of Kentucky (2). Therefore, Tennessee will likely need to win one and would like to win two games this week in Hoover to create some separation between themselves and the field.
To win two games in the tournament, Tennessee will have to beat Texas A&M on Tuesday in a single-elimination contest and then beat Arkansas on Wednesday or defeat LSU/South Carolina/Georgia on Thursday. Beating the Aggies is certainly doable as the Vols swept them in the second SEC series of the season.
Defeating Arkansas will be a tall task, but as long as LSU doesn’t lose to the winner of the South Carolina vs. Georgia game, the Vols will have a decent chance of getting their second SEC Tournament win on Thursday.
More From RTI: See Pitching Matchup For Tennessee Baseball’s SEC Tournament Opener Against Texas A&M
In addition to Tennessee taking care of business a couple of times this week, they would welcome some assistance from Kentucky.
With the Wildcats’ RPI being so high, even if they lost the single-elimination game to Alabama Tuesday, the Vols would need a really strong showing in Hoover to have a better shot at hosting than Kentucky. But if the Tide are one-and-done in the tournament, Tennessee will almost surely have a better chance at hosting than Alabama, as long as they beat Texas A&M.
To get a better idea of which teams are currently more likely to host an NCAA Regional of the five-team SEC cluster, D1 Baseball’s latest Field of 64 projections are a great reference point.
Tennessee isn’t hosting in the Monday projections. However, Alabama, Auburn and Kentucky are all playing in their house next weekend. South Carolina feels like a clear fifth in the logjam, given their horrific stretch to end the season and ho-hum RPI ranking. So the Vols are eyeing to jump the Tide, Tigers or Wildcats this weekend, with Alabama being the most-jumpable team.
With all that being said, below is a bulleted checklist for what Tennessee baseball should want to happen in Hoover this week:
- Win vs. (10) Texas A&M Tuesday
- Alabama (9) loss to Kentucky (8) Tuesday
- Win vs. Arkansas (2) Wednesday
OR
- Win vs. LSU (3)/South Carolina(6)/Georgia (11) Thursday
The SEC Tournament hasn’t mattered all that much for Tennessee over the past two seasons, but with being on the bubble in terms of hosting, the Vols should do all they can to stay in Hoover until Saturday.
Rocky Top Insider succinctly breaks down what needs to happen in the SEC Tournament to improve Tennessee baseball’s chances at hosting in the latest High & Tight, presented by Gambuzza’s Barbershop.
What needs to happen this week in the SEC Tournament for the #Vols to host an NCAA Regional?@gambuzzasknox pic.twitter.com/6IFeU3kINR
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) May 23, 2023
