Tennessee took two of three baseball games against Kentucky this past weekend and enters this final week of the regular season having won 12 of its last 15 contests.
Those nice numbers have helped moved the needle for Tony Vitello’s Volunteers on the NCAA tournament landscape in terms of their chances of being among the 16 regional hosts. There is obviously more work to be done, beginning with this weekend’s series at South Carolina and extending into next week’s Southeastern Conference tournament at Hoover, Alabama.
“It know it’s cliche, but you just have to keep pushing forward,” Vitello said in a news conference following Saturday’s 10-7 victory over the Wildcats. “There are still new things going on in the locker room and dugout with certain personalities, even though there is obviously a lot less shifting of lineups and where we put pitchers and things like that. It’s overstated, but let the scoreboard and let the result take care of itself.
“Regardless of how many games we play in this stadium the rest of the year, they’re dwindling, so take advantage of these opportunities.”
Should Tennessee not take advantage down the stretch, Tuesday night’s 6:30 hosting of Belmont University could be its final performance this season inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols have compiled a 35-17 overall record that includes a 14-13 league mark and a 32-5 showing at home. It’s a worksheet that is accompanied by a No. 18 standing in the latest D1 Baseball poll and a No. 23 spot in the RPI rankings.
Tennessee is up five positions in the D1 Baseball poll from a week ago but up just one spot in the RPI, with the Vols ranking ninth among SEC teams in that metric.
South Carolina is No. 13 in the D1 poll and No. 3 in the RPI, but of greater concern for the Vols is the availability of left fielder and 3-hole hitter Jared Dickey, who injured his right shoulder during a slide Saturday. The 6-foot-2, 204-pound redshirt sophomore from the Nashville suburb of Mount Juliet leads the Vols with a .352 batting average — shortstop Maui Ahuna is a distant second at .311 — and with 116 total bases.
“He has been big for us leadership-wise, too, so whatever his status is, I think his presence will still bring value to the team,” Vitello said. “It’s not a rush effort from us by any means. I would like to see him out there as much as anyone, but the soreness needs to go away.”
Asked whether Dickey’s injury was a “big deal,” Vitello said he is day-by-day before adding, “The big deal is we’re not going to have him here next year. You’ll see him play again in a Vol uniform, and then he’ll move on to his pro career.”
Tennessee stranded 16 runners during Sunday’s 10-0 loss that ended an 11-game winning streak for the Vols at home, but Vitello isn’t viewing that outing as a negative.
“It sounds like a big-time loser comment when you lose 10-0, but it was a pretty good effort by the guys to show up the way they did all the way through the game,” he said. “We just didn’t have any results to show for it offensively. We’ll keep moving forward, as cliche as it is.”
SEC BASEBALL STANDINGS
Eastern Division
Florida (17-9, 39-12)
Vanderbilt (17-9, 35-15)
South Carolina (15-11, 37-14)
Kentucky (15-12, 35-15)
Tennessee (14-13, 35-17)
Missouri (10-17, 28-24)
Georgia (10-17, 28-24)
Western Division
Arkansas (19-8, 38-13)
LSU (17-9, 39-12)
Auburn (14-13, 30-19-1)
Alabama (13-14, 35-17)
Texas A&M (12-15, 30-22)
Mississippi State (8-19, 26-24)
Ole Miss (6-21, 25-26)
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.