Tennessee baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight time and is looking to defend its national championship from a season ago. That defense begins on Friday night when the Vols face Miami (Ohio) in their opening game at the Knoxville Regional.
Two-seed Wake Forest and three-seed Cincinatti join the Vols in the Knoxville Regional as the Road to Omaha begins at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Here’s what to know about Tennessee’s three potential regional opponents.
Miami (Ohio)
The Basics
- 35-21 (23-7 MAC) record
- Won the MAC regular season and tournament championship
- No. 80 RPI
- Played one SEC team, falling to Kentucky 4-3. Also lost matchups against Cincinnati (twice) and Ohio State
Strengths
Miami’s offense is certainly the strength of its team and it’s an offense that can hit for contact and hit for power. The Redhawks team batting average is .299, a mark that ranks 53rd nationally. Seven Miami starters are hitting over .300 making it a challenging lineup one through seven. They also rank 12th nationally in walks.
The Redhawks are even better hitting for power than they are hitting for contact. They rank 43rd nationally with a .497 slugging percentage and they get the job done in a bunch of different ways. They rank 61st nationally in home runs, 36th nationally in triples and 43rd nationally in doubles.
Weakness
Two weaknesses to note for the offense. While the offense is really good one through seven, it has two weak spots in the bottom of the lineup. They have used a couple different guys at the final two spots in the lineup with that group hitting between .115 and .215.
Perhaps most importantly for Tennessee, Miami is not aggressive on the base paths. The Redhawks rank just 238th nationally with 44 stolen bases.
It’s not a great pitching staff, ranking just 171st nationally with a 6.34 team-ERA. They are better in WHIP, posting a 1.50 mark that ranks 84th nationally. Miami has struggled to consistent starting pitchers. Eleven different pitchers have started for Miami with four earning nine-plus starts and six earning four-plus starts.
Wake Forest
The Basics
- 36-20 (16-14 ACC) record
- Finished eighth in the ACC regular season standings, second round exit in ACC Tournament
- No. 30 in RPI
- Swept Miami, beat North Carolina and Louisville in series. Dropped series against Florida State and Clemson
Strengths
Wake Forest has a really good offense this season and is one of the nation’s most patient. The Demon Deacons worked 363 walks, the fourth best rate in the entire country. Led by the high walk rate, Wake Forest enters the weekend ranked sixth nationally with a .431 on-base percentage.
The Demon Deacons can hit for power too, ranking No. 13 nationally with a .532 slugging percentage. With five players who have hit 10-plus home runs this season, Wake Forest ranks 11th nationally in home runs.
Wake Forest has a really strong bullpen with four pitchers who have posted 25-plus innings pitched. Three of those pitchers have an ERA south of four. With the other posting a 4.46 ERA.
Weaknesses
Wake Forest doesn’t have any true weaknesses but here’s a couple areas where they don’t completely excel. The Demon Deacons aren’t overly aggressive on the base paths, stealing 70 bases and not ranking in the top 100 nationally.
As a team, Wake Forest has been solid but not great as a pitching staff. Its 4.76 team-ERA ranks 49th nationally while its 1.41 WHIP ranks 50th. However, Wake Forest has struggled to find consistent starting pitching. Ace Blake Morningstar has been really good but Tennessee likely won’t have to see him.
Behind Morningstar the Demon Deacons have had a lot of moving piece including with former Vol lefty Matthew Dallas.
Cincinatti
The Basics
- 32-14 (16-14 Big 12) record
- Finished eighth in Big 12 regular season, quarterfinals exit in Big 12 Tournament
- No. 33 RPI
- Arizona and West Virginia swept Cincinatti. TCU won two of three against Cincinatti. Cincinatti swept Kansas.
Strengths
This is the team in the regional that could give Tennessee some issues on the base paths. Cincinatti ranks 18th nationally with 128 stolen bases. Landyn Vidourek ranks 14th nationally, successfully stealing 37 bases on 38 attempts.
Vidourek is one of the Bearcats best bats too, hitting .299 with 14 home runs and 10 doubles. As good as Vidourek is, Kerrington Cross is the lead man in the lineup, hitting .399 with 12 home runs, nine doubles, three triples and 49 RBIs.
On the mound, Cincinatti does have two consistent starters. The Bearcats number two guy Kellen O’Connor is who Tennessee would potentially face. He boasts a 4.68 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 65.1 innings pitched.
Weaknesses
Cincinatti certainly has its strengths, but overall this is a pretty underwhelming team statistically. Offensively, the Bearcats rank 121st nationally with a .284 batting average, 109th nationally with a .459 slugging percentage and 79th nationally with 70 home runs.
On the mound, it’s a pretty average pitching staff. The Bearcats ranks 101st nationally with a 5.44 team-ERA though they rank much better (68th nationally) with a 1.46 WHIP.
