Tennessee baseball heads to Gainesville this weekend for the first of two straight critical road SEC East series. The Vols are back on the Thursday through Saturday series for the second straight week as they face a very talented Florida team that’s been struggling as of late.
Tony Vitello’s team is looking to turn the page from its midweek loss against Lipscomb and to pick up its seventh straight series win while Florida is looking to collect wins to bolster its NCAA Tournament bid.
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How To Watch — No. 3 Tennessee (37-8, 15-6 SEC) at Florida (23-21, 9-12 SEC)
Game One (Thursday)
- 7 p.m. ET
- Watch: ESPN
- PxP: Mike Monaco, CC: Chris Burke
Game Two (Friday)
- 6:30 p.m. ET
- Stream: SEC Network+
- PxP: Sean Kelley, CC: Nick Belmonte
Game Three (Saturday)
- 6:30 p.m. ET
- Stream: SEC Network+
- PxP: Sean Kelley, CC: Nick Belmonte
What Tennessee HC Tony Vitello Said About Florida
On what he’s seen from Florida
“Cags [Jac Caglianone] is so physical and big. He does it on both sides of the ball for them. I don’t know enough to say this with complete confidence, but you can guesstimate that a lot revolves around him. I’m familiar with a few of their guys too who have been in the lineup. The biggest thing is – I’ve seen some of the arms but I’m not in a spot to where I can speak intelligently enough about this guy’s pitch or that guy’s pitch – but, there is an awful lot of talent sitting here in comparison to the record. People want to know who our biggest rival is and what is going to be the biggest series of the year. You’re kind of wasting your time looking at that. Whatever is right in front of you and this thing is right in front of us and now it follows a less than quality effort tonight. It’s the challenge that is right in front of us.”
On how much being familiar with the stadium and environment can help a team
“It’s helpful that you know the stadium and kind of know what it’s going to look like because you can start visualizing what adjustments you want to take from the lead up to this and the duration of it. You’ve got a picture clear perception of what they will look like and how they will play – their style. That’s the one thing about the consistency of coaching staffs. It’s great. It’s a big bonus for us. Then you can kind of start to stereotype – this coaching staff has been here and while and this is how hey do things. These are the problems they are going to present. I think it just helps out guys have a vision. That probably starts with the travel, the practice and then beginning of game one. Once the series starts, all heck breaks loose and you’re going to have to make adjustments on the fly. You’re going to have to handle situations that are uncomfortable.”
Projected Pitching Matchups
Last Three Series
Tennesse:
- Swept Missouri in Knoxville
- Won two out of three over Kentucky in Lexington
- Swept LSU in Knoxville
Florida:
- Lost two out of three at Arkansas
- Lost two out of three at Vanderbilt
- Lost two out of three against South Carolina in Gainesville
Prediction
Florida is one of the most talented teams in the SEC but the Gators have been on a slide over the last month ever since Missouri swept them in Columbia.
More than the midweek loss at Lipscomb, the real storyline I’ll be watching for Tennessee this weekend is if its offense can get back on track after three quiet games in a row. Florida has an offense that’s going to put up runs so if the Vols’ offense doesn’t find some juice it could be a rough weekend.
However, Florida’s pitching has been its downfall this season and Tennessee’s offense is too good to stay down for long. The Vols’ bats find their groove and Tennessee picks up another series win.
Tennessee Wins Two Out Of Three
