Two years ago, Tennessee’s baseball team limped into Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a three-game series against Vanderbilt and abruptly turned its season around with a stunning sweep of the Commodores that included a 17-1 run-rule rout in the middle contest.
The Volunteers aren’t in need of a spring overhaul with Vanderbilt returning to Knoxville this weekend, but they could use a positive result. Despite being 38-11 overall and ranked No. 12 in the latest USA Today coaches poll, reigning national champion Tennessee is just 6-9 in its past 15 Southeastern Conference games.
This is the worst 15-game stretch within the league for Tony Vitello’s Vols since they began SEC play 5-10 in 2023, which preceded Vanderbilt’s visit. That Tennessee team advanced all the way to the College World Series before losing twice to eventual national champion LSU.
“I don’t think that there is a whole lot that needs to change,” Vitello said in a news conference following Tuesday night’s 12-1 shellacking of Indiana State in seven innings. “We need to make sure we are putting the pitchers in the right situations. We’ve got a good staff. There is ability there, so we need to put these guys in a good position to succeed, and when these guys get the ball, they need to execute who they are.
“With defense and baserunning, you’re never going to be perfect. With our hitters, they need to understand that they don’t need to go up there and save the day every at-bat. We need an improved mentality, but other than that, I don’t think that there is a whole lot that needs to change.”
Friday’s series opener has a scheduled 5:30 p.m. start, and it will be televised by the SEC Network. Saturday’s 5 p.m. encounter and Sunday’s 3 p.m. finale will be televised by ESPN2.
Vanderbilt is 34-15 overall and ranked No. 10, with the Commodores and Vols tied for fifth in the SEC standings with 14-10 records.
“Tim Corbin has done such a good job there,” Vols leadoff hitter and shortstop Gavin Kilen said Tuesday. “Every single year they’re going to be a team that wins, and they will do anything they can to do that and compete. These games will be good.”
Kilen has been plenty good in his first season with the Vols since transferring from Louisville, leading Tennessee with a robust .388 average. Team leader Hunter Ensley is hitting .352, while Andrew Fischer, a transfer from Ole Miss, has a .318 average with a team-high 17 home runs.
Tennessee is tied for second nationally with 107 homers, but the Vols are averaging 2.92 homers per game against nonconference opposition compared to 1.41 versus SEC foes. Last season’s Vols set the program record with 184 homers and had a 2.21 per-game clip against league opponents, which included the SEC tournament and the three games against Texas A&M in the College World Series.
The Vols have a legitimate ace with Liam Doyle, another Ole Miss transfer, who is 8-2 with a 2.39 earned run average. They also have a proven second starter with Marcus Phillips (3-3, 3.02), with AJ Russell (0-1, 4.82) still a bit of a wild card as he continues to build up his innings after undergoing Tommy John surgery last June.
Dylan Loy (4-0, 2.55) has been the most reliable member of Tennessee’s bullpen, with Nate Snead (3-1, 3.57) having yet to match his 2024 dominance, when he went 10-2 with a 3.11 ERA.
“The moments in time that will live on forever are the result of guys who continue to compete regardless of what’s going on,” Vitello said. “The teams that come together at the right time are the teams that stay positive and stick with their routines and don’t try to reinvent the wheel as far as what they’re trying to do.”
This in-state rivalry was controlled by Vanderbilt from 2011-21, with the Commodores winning 20 of the 30 meetings. Since 2022, however, Tennessee holds a 10-2 advantage.
“They’re all rivalries on the weekend,” Vitello said. “We played down in Baton Rouge against one of the more storied programs in college baseball, and it was their biggest-ever crowd and their most expensive ticket. When we went to Oxford, they wanted to punch two of our guys.
“By now, we’ve kind of seen everything with the rain delays and the different winds we’ve seen at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. We’ve kind of seen it all, so the thing we need to do is realize what’s the best version of these guys and try to utilize it.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.