Tennessee baseball started the season with a 2-1 week in Texas at the Shriners Children’s College Classic. The Vols opened the event with a win over a ranked Texas Tech team before falling to Oklahoma in extra innings and defeating Baylor to cap off the weekend.
The Vols got fantastic pitching performances from a number of players including AJ Russell, Nate Snead and AJ Causey. Causey’s 4.2 inning relief appearance against Texas Tech was good enough for him to earn co-SEC Pitcher of the Week honors.
A number of Tennessee hitters had big weeks. Dylan Dreiling and Kavares Tears each went deep and were frequently on base. But Clemson transfer Billy Amick and junior Christian Moore were Tennessee’s two best batters, combining to hit 10-of-26 (.385) with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBIs.
After the successful weekend, Tennessee either slightly dropped in the rankings or stayed put where they were at. Here’s where they landed in the rankings after the opening weekend.
*Note: The USA Today Coaches Poll doesn’t update its preseason poll until three weeks into the season
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Notebook Following The Opening Weekend Of The Season
D1Baseball
- National rank: No. 9
- Previous rank: No. 9
USA Today Coaches Poll
- National rank: No. 8
- Previous rank: Not yet updated
Baseball America
- National rank: No. 8
- Previous rank: No. 8
NCBWA
- National rank: No. 7
- Previous rank: No. 5
Perfect Game
- National rank: No. 11
- Previous rank: No. 11
