All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee Baseball: Vols Begin Weekend Series vs Missouri Tigers Friday Night

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot carries the flag through the fans during Vol Walk prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers mascot carries the flag through the fans during Vol Walk prior to the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Following a midweek split and one bad loss, Tennessee baseball returns to SEC play Friday. The Volunteers will face the Missouri Tigers to close out April.

Just when you thought the Tennessee Vols were about to get on a roll following taking two out of three vs the Vanderbilt Commodores and then winning a game with a walk-off against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Dave Serrano’s ball club choked away an easy home game against the Alabama State Hornets right after that.

Now, at 24-18, Tennessee returns to SEC play against the Missouri Tigers on the road. Although Mizzou is 21-21 overall, they are 4-14 in the SEC.

This is a huge maybe or break series for the Vols. Winning the series will keep them afloat, but it won’t make them, which is why it’s not make or break.

But if they lose this series, at 6-12 in the SEC, pretty much all hope is lost for the season. They have to get past the Wednesday loss to Alabama as quickly as possible.

The first game of the series will feature lefty Aaron Soto for the Vols against Reggie McClain for the Tigers. That’s a match-up that likely favors the home pitcher, which is not a good sign for Tennessee.

They are going to need their bats to come alive and actually be able to drive home baserunners, something they have struggled to do all year and came to fruition against Alabama State, of all teams.

Saturday, the small ball style of Serrano with aggressive baserunners will be needed more than ever, as a pitcher’s duel is likely expected when Zach Warren and Tanner Houck go up against each other.

But outside of Saturday, the series will likely come down to power and extra base hits at the plate. Tennessee will need that more than ever in this series.

A sweep might be necessary to keep them alive, but for starters they have to at least win two out of three.

Home/Vols Baseball