Tennessee baseball is back in action this weekend, headed to Baton Rouge to face LSU in a top 10 series at Alex Box Stadium.
The Vols are looking to get back on track after dropping two of their last three weekend series. LSU got swept two weeks ago at Auburn and bounced back with a strong series win against Alabama last weekend. Here’s how to watch the three-game series and more thoughts on the weekend set.
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How to Watch: No. 6 Tennessee baseball (34-7, 12-6 SEC) at No. 8 LSU (34-8, 12-6 SEC)
Game One (Friday)
First pitch time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Announcers: PxP: Lyn Rollins, CC: Ronnie Rantz
Stream: SEC Network+
Game Two (Saturday)
First pitch time: 8 p.m. ET
Announcers: PxP: Dave Neal, CC: Todd Walker
Stream: ESPNU
Game Three (Sunday)
First pitch time: 3 p.m. ET
Announcers: PxP: Dave Neal, CC: Todd Walker
Stream: SEC Network
Pitching Matchups
Game One:
Vols LHP Liam Doyle: 10 GS, 7-1, 2.48 ERA, 58 IP, 0.83 WHIP, 104 K, 17 BB
vs.
Tigers LHP Kade Anderson: 10 GS, 6-1, 3.92 ERA, 57.1 IP, 1.06 WHIP, 91 K, 13 BB
Game Two:
Vols RHP Marcus Phillips: 10 GS, 2-3, 2.96 ERA, 48.2 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 62 K, 17 BB
vs.
Tigers RHP Anthony Evanson: 10 GS, 3.52 ERA, 53.2 IP, 1.23 WHIP, 83 K, 21 BB
Game Three:
TBA
vs.
TBA
What To Know About The Tigers
Like Tennessee, LSU entered the season as a preseason top five team and has spent the entirety of the season in the top 10.
The Tigers were stout against a relatively easy non conference schedule. Their only loss before the start of SEC play came against Omaha while they earned solid lone victories over Dallas Baptist, Kansas State and Nebraska. LSU dropped its first midweek game of the season earlier this week against Northwestern State.
LSU is 12-6 in SEC play with series losses against Texas and Auburn and series wins over Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri and Mississippi State. The Tigers swept Missouri at home and Oklahoma on the road.
Jared Jones is the bat that strikes fear in the middle of the lineup, entering this week hitting .359 with 12 doubles, 13 homers and 55 RBIs. Daniel Dickinson has also been highly productive and is hitting .347 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 38 RBIs.
Those are the top guys but this is a deep LSU lineup. With seven starters hitting over .300, the Tigers rank second in the SEC in batting average. They also rank second in the conference in doubles.
LSU has a solid starting rotation but two dominant bullpen arms. Casan Evans has a 0.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched while Zac Cowan has a 1.21 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched.
What Is Tennessee’s Best Infield Combination?
Gavin Kilen made his return to second base on Tuesday night against Lipscomb for the first time in over a month. Versatility is one of Tennessee’s strengths, but what is its best combo with Kilen back in the field?
Ariel Antigua played shortstop, Dean Curley played third base and Dalton Bargo played left field Tuesday. I worry about Curley on the left side of the infield. His throwing has just been so shaky over there and he had another throwing error against Lipscomb.
If Kilen is healthy enough to play shortstop, where he played at Louisville last season, I’d play him there, Curley at second and either Bargo or Manny Marin at third base. If Kilen doesn’t yet have the range to play shortstop, I like using Curley as the designated hitter.
Then Tennessee has versatility at third base and left field. Bargo is starting at one spot no matter what. The Vols can play one of Jay Abernathy, Levi Clark or Chris Newstrom in left field with Bargo at third base or Marin at third base and Bargo in left field.
A Quick Prediction
LSU isn’t overwhelming but they’re very solid across the board. They have an offense that gets on base frequently and a shutdown bullpen.
Tennessee is very capable of going on the road, where they’ve played well this season, and winning the three-game series. But they’re going to have to play much better baseball than they have the last three weeks.
And that’s almost more important than winning the series. If Tennessee plays clean baseball with competitive at-bats and loses two close games, that might not be the end of the world.
Prediction: LSU wins two out of three
