NCAA Baseball Tournament – Knoxville Regional

NCAA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT – KNOXVILLE REGIONAL — The No. 1 seed is supposed to have the easiest path to Omaha. This road for Tennessee is…not that. It’s not quite as bad as Kentucky’s draw, but it’s not the glide path that Texas A&M seems to have (I’ve said that so often that the Aggies are sure to go two-and-out).

Waiting in the wings for Tennessee is Southern Mississippi, which proved a tough out last year in the super regionals. The Volunteers have the home field advantage this year, but the Golden Eagles got through a difficult Sun Belt schedule and remain a solid squad.

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Indiana should at least be well prepared for this regional. The Hoosiers tested themselves against a brutal schedule and got an at-large bid for their troubles. Newcomer Northern Kentucky rounds out the regional, and the Norse do bring a couple solid hitters down I-75. It likely won’t be enough to pull a stunner, but the Norse can’t be taken lightly.

Players to Watch

Tennessee puts up runs, hits for average, hits for power and keeps runs off the scoreboard. In other words, the Volunteers are good at almost everything. You don’t lead the SEC in home runs without having multiple power hitters, and Christian Moore led Tennessee with 28 homers on the year. Behind him, Blake Burke hit .372 and knocked 17 baseballs over the fence. Tennessee has five hitters with at least 17 home runs, and they all drove in at least 48 home runs.

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The Vols can also pitch, as Chris Stamos and Drew Beam form a solid 1-2 punch for Tennessee. Stamos likely goes against Northern Kentucky, leaving Beam set up for the second game. Beyond that, Tennessee will go bullpen-heavy.

Southern Miss pitcher Billy Oldham is the kind of pitcher that true baseball lovers appreciate. He’s not a hard thrower, but he goes out and truly pitches. And even without a dominating fastball, he misses bats. Indiana will likely have to counter with ace Connor Foley, which could make the first game a low-scoring affair. Tennessee’s opener might not be; Liam McFadden-Ackman blasted 21 home runs this year for NKU.

The Favorite

Even with the talent in this regional, it’s downright impossible to pick against Tennessee. The Volunteers do everything well except fielding, where they’re just average. But the pitching is rock-solid and they put up so many runs that most teams cannot keep pace.

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Tennessee lost just three games all year in Knoxville, and the Vols’ 3.84 ERA means that they’ll be well set up for any bullpen games. The Vols got their wakeup call in Hoover against Vanderbilt, and they seem well focused now.

Potential Surprise

Southern Mississippi does have a solid starter, but not enough of a bullpen to really make a run here. The Golden Eagles posted an ERA of 5.00, and that just won’t hold Tennessee at bay.

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The more likely surprise is Indiana. The Hoosiers have a slugging outfielder in Devin Taylor and a decent pitching staff, plus they played one of the nation’s toughest schedules. Indiana isn’t going to panic if it falls behind early; it knows how to handle good teams.

However, there’s a difference between solid opponents and the No. 1 team in the nation. Tennessee is just too good. The Vols should roll in this regional, which might mean a showdown with Wake Forest in the supers..