Just a massive, massive spot here for Tennessee.
A chance to host a regional in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament might just be on the line for Tennessee baseball this weekend, and they have a tough opponent standing in their way. The Volunteers will make the trip over to Arkansas this weekend, set to play their final conference series of the season.
The SEC Tournament will get going next week, and the results over the next three days will set the bracket. Tennessee, losers of five of their last six series, are clinging to a projected No. 16 national seed. One more slip might just take them out of contention to host a regional, barring a huge performance in Hoover.
No. 8 Arkansas will host the Volunteers starting on Thursday night. Tony Vitello will shuffle the rotation a bit here, shifting Liam Doyle to Friday night and using Marcus Phillips on Thursday. Doyle has been dealing with a blister for the past couple of weeks and will get an extra day of rest in hopes of getting back to 100 percent. Tennessee also announced Tegan Kuhns as the game three starter which is something that they rarely do.
Arkansas will open the series with Zach Root on the mound, a lefty posting a 3.88 ERA on the season. The Razorbacks have scored the fifth most runs in in D1 this season — 468 in 52 games played.
Tennessee enters the weekend as the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament.
Tennessee vs. Arkansas Baseball Weekend Schedule
Game 1 – Thursday (8 pm ET): ESPN2
Tennessee: RHP Marcus Phillips (13 GS, 3-4, 3.55 ERA)
Arkansas: LHP Zach Root (13 GS, 6-3, 3.88 ERA)
Game 2 – Friday (7:30 pm ET): SEC Network+
Tennessee: LHP Liam Doyle (13 GS, 9-2, 2.17 ERA)
Arkansas: TBA
Game 3 – Saturday (3 pm ET): SEC Network
Tennessee: RHP Tegan Kuhns (8 GS, 2-2, 3.78 ERA)
Arkansas: RHP Gage Wood (6 GS, 1-1, 5.51 ERA)