Tennessee baseball returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend to conclude its long home stand as they prepare to host Georgia in a three-game series.
The Vols are 4-1 on the home stand so far including their first SEC series win of the season when Tony Vitello’s team swept Ole Miss last weekend. Georgia is coming off of sweeping Alabama last weekend as both teams are 3-3 in SEC play entering the weekend series.
Here’s everything to know about the matchup.
More From RTI: Tony Vitello Updates Status Of A Pair Of Injured Vols
How To Watch — No. 5 Tennessee (22-4, 3-3 SEC) vs. Georgia (21-4, 3-3 SEC)
Game One
- 6:30 p.m. ET
- Stream: SEC Network+
- PxP: Will Boling, CC: Cody Hawn
Game Two
- 5 p.m. ET
- Watch: SEC Network
- PxP: Dave Neal, CC: Lance Cormier
Game Three
- 2 p.m. ET
- Watch: SEC Network
- PxP: Dave Neal, CC: Lance Cormier
What Tennessee HC Tony Vitello Said About Georgia
On Georgia’s Charlie Condon
“There whole team, as I understand, has hit a lot of home runs and the standard answer for you guys is that we haven’t really looked at things yet because you’re worried about Tennessee Tech but I do know it’s kind of like Alabama. You have a new coaching staff so you have a new energy and new vibe that’s going to benefit them at the start of the year. I’m sure it has and will continue throughout the year and then the other thing is they inherited some really good players. I’m sure they brought in some guys like Alabama too. Haven’t dove in it enough to know that but he’s a guy that played with CMo and Drew (Beam) this summer so certainly familiar with everybody who was capable of being good enough to be on that team but there’s other guys too.”
Projected Pitching Matchups
Game One
RHP Drew Beam (3-1, 3.34 ERA, 35 IP, 31 K, 4 BB, 1.14 WHIP) vs. RHP Leighton Finley (2-1, 3.75 ERA, 24 IP, 18 K, 6 BB, 1.29 WHIP)
Game Three
TBD vs. RHP Christian Mracna (3-1, 3.57 ERA, 22.2 IP, 31 K, 16 BB, 1.46 WHIP)
Bats To Know
Tennessee:
1B Blake Burke — .391/.467/.837, 9 HR, 23 EBH, 23 RBI, 13 BB, 15 K
2B Christian Moore — .350/.440/.720, 10 HR, 17 EBH, 19 RBI, 15 BB, 21 K
OF Kavares Tears — .402/.495/.776, 8 HR, 14 EBH, 23 RBI, 16 BB, 16 K
LF Dylan Dreiling — .333/.464/.756, 8 HR, 16 XHB, 30 RBI, 18 BB, 21 K
DH/OF Robin Villeneuve — .356/.493/.661, 5 HR, 8 XBH, 22 RBI, 10 BB, 25 K
Georgia:
3B/OF Charlie Condon — .517/.637/1.213, 17 HR, 27 XBH, 37 RBI, 25 BB, 12 K
INF Slate Alford — .345/.429/.627, 8 HR, 15 XBH, 30 RBI, 15 BB, 22 K
OF Paul Toetz — .396/.500/.625, 2 HR, 6 XBH, 10 RBI, 7 BB, 10 K
DH Dylan Goldstein — .302/.425/.825, 9 HR, 14 XBH, 30 RBI, 11 BB, 14 K
LF Clayton Chadwick — .281/.414/.509, 2 HR, 9 XBH, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 9 K
Last Three Series
Tennesse:
- Won two out of three against Ole Miss at home
- Dropped two out of three at Alabama
- Swept Illinois at home
Georgia:
- Swept Alabama at home
- Kentucky swept Georgia in Lexington
- Swept Northern Colorado at home
Prediction
If you like offense, this is the series for you. Georgia leads the country in home runs while Tennessee is second in the nation in home runs. They’ll meet at a notorious hitter friendly park.
The Vols are a little banged up this weekend with both AJ Russell and Billy Amick expected to miss time. Still, Tennessee has an abundance of depth in its lineup. While the Vols’ pitching staff still has some clear questions, Georgia’s has just as many if not more. With the series in Knoxville, I’m picking the Vols to take care of business.
Tennessee wins two out of three