Tennessee baseball is starting to get hot at the perfect time. They just took a series from No. 4 Texas and followed it up with an 11–1 win over Belmont. With the NCAA Tournament coming up soon, the Vols are trending in the right direction.
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The Belmont win was nice, but the real headline is that Tennessee is now 14–0 in midweek games for the first time this century. That’s a huge credit to Josh Elander and the staff. Even Tony Vitello’s teams never did that, and while most teams slip up at some point, the Vols have been perfect in those midweek matchups. Not to mention, the Vols' home crowd at Lindsay-Nelson has a part in this, too, as they never make it easy for anyone coming into Knoxville. It's been a collaborative effort.
Tennessee made SEC and program history in Tuesday’s mid-week win over Belmont 🍊
— FOX Sports Knoxville (@FOXSportsKnox) May 13, 2026
Tennessee’s 11-1 win over Belmont on Tuesday clinched a 14-0 record in mid-week contests for the season.
The perfect record marks the first time the Vols have gone unbeaten in all mid-week games… pic.twitter.com/UNvz0l6rkt
Tennessee baseball perfect in midweek matchups
Sure, some might point to “cupcake” opponents, but every team has slip-ups in midweek non-conference games. Clemson just lost to South Carolina Upstate 7–2, a team that the Tennessee beat earlier this year. South Carolina also lost to Winthrop last night, and Georgia dropped a game to Troy, a team that is barely .500 this season. The point is, it’s not uncommon for big-time programs to have an off night in baseball. All it takes is a hot pitcher and a few cheap hits, and suddenly your back is against the wall.
Not to mention, in between all of these midweek games, the Tennessee Volunteers baseball are also sandwiched between SEC opponents, the deepest conference in college baseball. Tennessee not only has to prepare for their weekend series against top teams, but they also come off playing another elite opponent the weekend prior. It’s quite remarkable they haven’t slipped up at all this year, especially given how this team has shown some inconsistency at times
How Tennessee was able to pull it off
This really shows how deep Tennessee’s pitching staff is. Most of these midweek games have been blowouts, which is pretty impressive. The Vols are tied for second in the SEC with a 1.22 WHIP, and they’ve done a great job keeping runners off base. When the bats are going, they’re really tough to beat. The one concern is home runs, as they’ve given up 70 this year. If the pitching staff can clean up these bombs allowed and allow some weaker contact, the Vols will be in really good shape come the NCAA tournament.
It’s also worth noting that Tennessee’s offense has been rolling in midweek games, too. The Vols have scored double digits in 10 of 14 midweek matchups, so it’s not just the pitching that’s been dominant; the bats have been going as well. The Vols have hit 100 home runs in five straight years, and many of these came in the midweek games.
Tennessee has one more SEC series left, and it’s against Oklahoma, a team they’re tied with in the standings. Josh Elander just needs to take two of three and then start getting ready for the SEC Tournament.
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