Tennessee baseball is checkering Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday night as the Vols host Ole Miss in game two of the three-game series in Knoxville. Fans can find out whether they’re in an orange or white section here.
While Tennessee has frequently done checker games at both Neyland Stadium and Thompson-Boling Arena in past years, this is just the second ever “Checker Lindsey Nelson Stadium” game. The Vols previously checkered LNS for game two of its 2021 weekend series against Arkansas.
That win was one of the foundational ones early in Tennessee baseball’s rise under Tony Vitello. The first weekend that Tennessee allowed full capacity at any of its arenas or stadiums after COVID-19, Max Ferguson hit a three-run walk-off home run to beat No. 1 Arkansas 8-7.
The Razorbacks took the weekend series behind a pair of one-run wins on Friday and Sunday, but the win was a launching point to Tennessee’s first trip to the College World Series since 2005.
Josh Elander’s first Tennessee team is hoping this past weekend’s success at Mississippi State will prove to be the same thing for this season.
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The Vols entered the weekend 4-8 in SEC play after consecutive brutal series against Vanderbilt and LSU where Tennessee lost five tight games, three in extra innings and three while blowing late game leads.
But Tennessee got right in Starkville, sweeping ninth-ranked Mississippi State to improve to 7-8 in SEC play. The Vols had stout pitching all weekend, holding the Bulldogs to just three runs over the course of the weekend.
Tennessee has struggled to play strong situational baseball this season but got the job done with just that in Starkville. The Vols stranded just two runners on base in game three of the series. Trent Grindlinger, Garrett Wright, Manny Marin and Reese Chapman all had fantastic weekends at the plate.
Ole Miss enters this weekend’s series 8-7 in SEC play and coming off a sweep of defending national champion LSU. The Rebels have won consecutive series since Mississippi State swept them in Starkville two weeks ago.
First pitch for Saturday night’s game is at 6 p.m. ET. The SEC Network+ is streaming the matchup.
