Tennessee baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament for a seventh straight time and is heading on the road this weekend for the Chapel Hill Regional. The Vols are a two-seed and will face off against three-seed East Carolina in their first NCAA Tournament game.
On the other side of the four-team double elimination bracket includes No. 5 overall seed North Carolina and VCU. Here’s what to know about Tennessee’s three potential regional opponents.
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East Carolina
The Basics
- 36-22-1 (17-10 American) record
- Tied for the American regular season championship and won tournament championship
- No. 40 RPI
- Went 1-1-1 in series against North Carolina, went 1-2 in series against Coastal Carolina, went 1-1 against Duke and 0-2 against NC State
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.
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.
On the pitching side, East Carolina does not have a true ace. Ethan Norby leads the Pirates with 83.2 innings pitched this season but threw 41 pitches on Friday and 99 pitches on Sunday at the American Conference Tournament.
LHP Ryan Towers (3.04 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 53.1 IP) could be a likely starting candidate against Tennessee on Friday night.
North Carolina
The Basics
- 45-11-1 (22-8 ACC) record
- Finished second in ACC regular season and lost in ACC Tournament Championship game
- No. 4 RPI
- Won midweek game against South Carolina. Won regular season series against Georgia Tech.
Strengths
North Carolina boasts a really strong pitching staff, ranking 10th nationally in team-ERA and 46th nationally in team-WHIP. Jason DeCarlo is a true ace, posting a 2.30 ERA in 74.1 innings pitching this season. It will be interesting to see when the Tar Heels throw him this weekend.
North Carolina plays strong defense behind its solid pitching staff. The Tar Heels rank ninth nationally in fielding percentage.
The Tar Heels do a bit of everything offensively, but their biggest strength is their .416 on-base percentage that ranks 20th nationally. Five different North Carolina starters have an on-base percentage over .400.
North Carolina does not rank high nationally in stolen bases but Owen Hull has swiped 17 bags this season while Jake Schaffner has stolen 25 bases this season.
Weaknesses
It’s not a massive weakness but North Carolina does not hit for a ton of power. They rank just 48th nationally in slugging percentage and 54th nationally in home runs.
The Tar Heels don’t have incredible starting pitching depth. Folger Boaz has started 13 games this season and has posted a 7.30 ERA. They have used a few other effective relievers as their third starting pitcher but none have a ton of experience in the role.
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VCU
The Basics
- 37-23 (20-10 A10) record
- Finished second in the A10 regular season and won A10 Tournament Championship
- No. 82 RPI
- Went 1-1 against Illinois, went 1-1 against Coastal Carolina, lost lone game against North Carolina, was swept in series against Virginia but won a midweek game against the Cavaliers, split two games against Virginia Tech
Strengths
VCU has the best RPI of any four-seed in the field and marks a real challenge for North Carolina and the rest of the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Rams have a strong pitching staff that ranks 31st nationally in team-ERA and 50th nationally in team-WHIP. Starting pitcher Patrick Steitz and swing-man Elias Holbert give VCU a pair of really strong pitchers.
Offensively, VCU is tied for 18th nationally with 123 doubles this season. They have the best base stealing team in the regional, swiping 99 bases so far this season with five different players who have double-digit stolen bases.
Weaknesses
Despite the high-quantity of doubles, VCU ranks just 104th in slugging nationally. Jacob Lee has hit 17 home runs and Michael Petite has hit 14 home runs but no one else is in double digits this season.
VCU is not a very good team defensively. They rank just 128th nationally in fielding percentage this season— the lowest mark in the Chapel Hill Regional.
The Rams also have limited experience against ACC or SEC competition this season which is worth keeping in mind with their impressive numbers.
