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Tennessee Baseball: Vols to Host MTSU on First Night of Midweek Back to Back

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 5, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans flies the United States flag and the Volunteer flag prior to the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans flies the United States flag and the Volunteer flag prior to the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee baseball will host two different teams in a midweek back-to-back, beginning Tuesday. The Volunteers host the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.

After taking one out of three on the road last week against the No. 22 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide along with a win against Tennessee Tech, the Tennessee Vols baseball team returns home this week to host Middle Tennessee.

With a 14-9 record in Dave Serrano’s fifth season on the job, the Vols’ midweek competitions will kick off five straight home games.

With a 5-4 record at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the heart of SEC play set to begin, this is a great tune-up midweek for Tennessee, who is 2-4 in the SEC.

The Vols will put Sophomore Eric Freeman on the mound Tuesday for his third start. He has had a decent beginning to the year with a 3.51 ERA, pitching a series of scoreless innings in stretches, including over four scoreless innings at Grand Canyon.

He will be facing a Blue Raiders team that has not backed down to anybody. Despite their 12-12 record, they have played 13 teams who made the 2015 NCAA Tournament. However, they have lost each of their last three games and are reeling going into Tuesday night’s game.

The Tennessee lineup is based a bit on small ball and maximizing potential, but given the fact that the Blue Raiders will be deep in their rotation Tuesday, the Vols’ best bet will be to utilize their hitting, led by senior outfielder Chris Hall with his .505 OBP and his .375 batting average.

With Serrano on the hot seat, Tennessee is about to enter the heart of the regular season and has to make the NCAA Tournament this year for its coach to keep his job.

Wins in a midweek back-to-back starting against a decent team like Middle Tennessee would be a good way to begin a run down the stretch.

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