Postseason baseball returns to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend as the top-seeded Tennessee Vols host Southern Miss, Indiana and Northern Kentucky in the Knoxville Regional.
The Vols will take on four-seed Northern Kentucky in its first game while Southern Miss and Indiana will face off in the first game of the four-team double elimination tournament.
Tennessee is the favorite to defend its home field and win the Knoxville Regional but there’s a number of capable opponents coming to Knoxville this weekend.
Here’s a quick look at Southern Miss, Indiana and Northern Kentucky ahead of the Knoxville Regional.
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Southern Miss
How They Got Here
Southern Miss enters the NCAA Tournament with a 41-18 (20-10 Sun Belt) record and is one of the hottest teams in the country. The Golden Eagles have won 14 of their last 15 games and won the Sun Belt Tournament Championship after finishing in second place during the regular season.
Southern Miss has a consistent and strong program. They’ve made the NCAA Tournament eight straight times and have advanced to the super regionals the last two seasons. Tennessee knows Southern Miss well after knocking off the Golden Eagles in the Hattiesburg Super Regional last season.
The Golden Eagles have played a number of NCAA Tournament quality teams this season. They won two out of three games against Indiana State, beat Alabama and Tulane, split two matchups against Ole Miss and lost to Mississippi State in midweek games this season.
Team Hitting Stats
Runs: 417 (78th nationally)
Batting average: .294 (70th nationally)
Home runs: 63 (138th nationally)
Doubles: 126 (23rd nationally)
Walks: 259 (130th nationally)
Team Pitching Stats
Earned Run Average: 5.00 (54th nationally)
WHIP: 1.39 WHIP (26th nationally)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings: 10.0 (27th nationally)
Indiana
How They Got Here
Indiana earned a three-seed in the Knoxville Regional after posting a 32-24-1 (15-9 Big 10) record before losing to Nebraska in the Big 10 Tournament Semifinals game.
The Hoosiers won six of eight Big 10 series before posting a 3-2 record in the Big 10 tournament. One of those two series losses in conference play came against Illinois as the Hoosiers dropped two out of three against the Fighting Illini.
Tennessee faced Illinois in a three-game series in March, sweeping the Fighting Illini at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Indiana has played a number of other challenging non conference games this season. They swept Baylor in a three-game series and won individual matchups against Northern Kentucky and Dallas Baptist. The Hoosiers lost individual matchups against Vanderbilt, Alabama, Indiana State and Arizona.
Team Hitting Stats
Runs: 463 (33rd nationally)
Batting average: .295 (68th nationally)
Home runs: 78 (76th nationally)
Doubles: 134 (10th nationally)
Walks: 280 (78th nationally)
Team Pitching Stats
Earned Run Average: 6.02 (148th nationally)
WHIP: 1.51 (86th nationally)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings: 10.1 (24th nationally)
Northern Kentucky
How They Got Here
Northern Kentucky enters the NCAA Tournament with a 35-22 (19-11 Horizon) record. The Norse finished second in the Horizon League in the regular season before knocking off regular season champion Wright State to win the conference tournament and make it to the NCAA Tournament.
The Norse are playing strong baseball and have won 10 of their last 12 games including a season finale series victory against Wright State.
Northern Kentucky have played a number of bigger schools this season. Here’s how they fared. Georgia swept the Norse but two games were decided by one run. Northern Kentucky won two out of three at Missouri. They lose midweek games against Indiana and Louisville.
Team Hitting Stats
Runs: 542 (5th nationally)
Batting average: .320 (6th nationally)
Home runs: 86 (56th nationally)
Doubles: 127 (20th nationally)
Walks: 355 (7th nationally)
Team Pitching Stats
Earned Run Average: 7.37 ERA (244th nationally)
WHIP: 1.74 (216th nationally)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings: 8.5 (122nd nationally)
