Tennessee baseball opens up NCAA Tournament play on Friday night in Knoxville when they’ll face Northern Kentucky at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The top-seeded Vols face four-seed Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET on Friday night following the Knoxville Regional opener between two-seed Southern Miss and three-seed Indiana.
Tennessee reached the postseason and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament by going 50-11 (22-8 SEC) with a SEC Regular Season Championship and a SEC Tournament Championship. They’re looking to return to the College World Series for the third time in four years and the journey back begins this weekend in Knoxville.
Here’s a look at how the RTI Staff sees the Knoxville Regional shaking out this weekend.
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Jack Foster
As the No. 1 seed, Tennessee didn’t get a super easy draw. But I wouldn’t say the draw is very difficult, either. It is intriguing to say the least with the rematch factor against Southern Miss, who was Tennessee’s Super Regional opponent a year ago.
The Golden Eagles return quite a bit of talent from that team last year including two top arms. I would bet on Southern Miss being Tennessee’s most challenging out of the weekend.
But first, the Vols will have their hands full with Northern Kentucky, one of the better 4-seeds in the tournament with a dangerous offense. The Norse will be a good test for Chris Stamos and AJ Causey as they make their first postseason appearances in orange on Friday night in Knoxville.
Indiana is the third team. The most balanced team in the Knoxville Regional that is undoubtedly talented but the one I have the lowest belief in to upset Tennessee.
All in all, Tennessee is at home. Tennessee just flexed their pitching depth in Hoover to win an SEC Championship, and we know this is one of, if not the, best offenses in the country. Tennessee sweeps the Regional and advances with relative ease.
Prediction: Tennessee advances, 3-0
Ryan Schumpert
After going on the road on its journey to the College World Series last season, Tennessee baseball’s path back to Omaha goes through the friendly confines of Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Knoxville Regional is tough but there’s never any easy regional. Tennessee could have gotten a worse draw, like last season when No. 4 seed Clemson drew a red-hot Tennessee team.
The toughest part of Tennessee’s draw is four-seed Northern Kentucky. While the Vols are the top one-seed, Northern Kentucky isn’t the worst team in the event and is in fact one of the best four-seeds in the field with a stout offense.
Southern Miss and Indiana are both good teams but aren’t overly challenging matchups. The Golden Eagles having two strong starting pitchers makes them a tough potential opponent for Tennessee’s second game of the weekend.
We’ve written and talked at length about Tennessee’s opponents this week but the reality is that the Vols are the best team in the regional. They have a dominant offense and pitching that keeps improving and rising to the occasion. I think they get it done this weekend and advance to the super regionals for the fourth straight year.
Prediction: Tennessee advances
