Tennessee baseball opens up NCAA Tournament play on Friday when they face off against East Carolina in the opening game of the Chapel Hill Regional. It’s not a win or go home game, but the chances of winning a regional after losing the opening game are incredibly thin.
Here’s how to watch Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament opener and everything else to know ahead of the matchup.
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How To Watch: No. 2 seed Tennessee baseball (38-20, 15-15 SEC) vs. No. 3 seed East Carolina (36-22, 17-10 American)
- Noon ET/ 11 a.m. CT
- ESPNU
- PxP: Mike Monaco, CC: Ben McDonald
- Stream Link
Pitching Matchup
Left-handed pitcher Ryan Towers is starting for East Carolina while left-handed pitcher Evan Blanco is starting for Tennessee.
Towers has made 15 appearances and 13 starts this season. He enters the postseason with a 7-3 record, 3.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 53.1 innings pitched this season. Towers has struck out 42 batters and offered 20 walks this season.
A Loyola Marymount transfer, Towers mostly threw short outings and struggled early in the season but has gotten better as the year has gone on. He’s allowed just three earned runs in his last six outings dating back to April 19. Towers has a 0.86 ERA over that stretch.
Blanco has the most postseason experience of anyone in Tennessee’s pitching staff. The left-handed pitcher was the ace on Virginia’s 2024 team that made it to Omaha.
Despite a solid overall season, Blanco has struggled as of late. He’s allowed three-plus runs in the first inning of his last three starts. Blanco settled in and turned in solid starts against Texas and Oklahoma but didn’t get deep into the Arkansas game.
East Carolina Strengths
It starts with pitching for East Carolina. The Pirates rank 21st nationally in ERA and boast an incredibly balanced pitching staff. East Carolina’s bullpen is stout, boasting five relievers that have thrown over 29 innings and have an ERA south of 3.50.
The Pirates also boast a balanced offense with five separate players with a batting average over .300 and four players with double-digit extra-base hits.
After dropping its first two series in May, East Carolina has won six of its last seven games. The Pirates swept Florida Atlantic to close the regular season before winning the American Conference Tournament Championship.
East Carolina Weaknesses
East Carolina does not hit for much power. The Pirates rank just 136th nationally with 56 home runs with no players who have totaled double-digit homers this season. East Carolina does hit more doubles but still ranks just 110th in slugging nationally.
The Pirates are not aggressive on the base paths, ranking just slightly above Tennessee with 42 stolen bases this season. The mark ranks just 254th nationally.
A Quick Prediction
Tennessee 7, East Carolina 5
