Last weekend saw the Vols finally pick up their first SEC series of the year as they defeated Vanderbilt in two of three games in Knoxville. They are looking to keep their spot in the SEC tournament as UT travels to Missouri this weekend. The Vols are currently sitting tied with Arkansas at 6-12 in the final two spots of the tournament with Missouri last in the SEC with their four wins.
After hosting Vandy this past weekend the Vols had two midweek games, against Eastern Kentucky and Alabama State. They fell behind both teams early, losing their first inning 1-0 lead against EKU in the third inning after giving up two runs. Tennessee tied it back up in the sixth on a Vincent Jackson solo homer and took the lead on a two out bases loaded balk in the seventh. The Colonels would not go away though, drawing a one out walk in the eighth and scoring on an RBI single. Jared Pruett singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, and after a sacrifice bunt and strikeout Chris Hall brought him home on an RBI single to end the game.
Wednesday's game again saw Tennessee fall behind early, with Alabama State scoring three early runs in the second inning, two on a single to center (and subsequent error) and one on a fielder's choice to the pitcher. The Vols would leave eleven stranded on base throughout the game as they failed to score a run and fell to the SWAC leading Hornets 3-0.
Tennessee leads the all time series with Missouri 5-4. The Vols won their first two series against the Tigers 2-1 in 2013 and 2014 before dropping the series 1-2 last season in Knoxville.
Missouri has dropped two straight SEC series 0-3 to LSU and South Carolina. They did manage to pick up a midseason win this past week against Missouri State 17-9. The Tigers do have one more SEC series win on the year than the Vols, winning both the Auburn and Arkansas series 2-1.
Next week will see the Vols off in the midweek before returning home for the weekend series against Florida. They follow that up with home games against Belmont, three against LSU, and ETSU before heading down to Georgia to close out the season.
There are some storms in the forecast this weekend, so Friday's game time has been moved from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tennessee Volunteers (24-18) (6-12 SEC) at Missouri Tigers (21-21) (4-14 SEC)
Date: Friday-Sunday April 29-May 1, 2016
First Pitch: 4 p.m. ET Friday, 4 p.m. ET Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET Sunday at Taylor Stadium, Columbia, MO
TV: ESPNU Saturday and SEC Network Sunday
Live Audio: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on UTSports
Internet Video: Each Game on WatchESPN
Live Stats: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday via Missouri
Probable Starting Pitchers:
UT LHP Aaron Soto (4-2, 4.02 ERA) vs MU RHP Reggie McClain (3-2, 3.89 ERA)
UT LHP Zach Warren (5-4, 2.88 ERA) vs MU RHP Tanner Houck (4-4, 3.20 ERA)
UT TBD vs MU TBD
Players to Keep an Eye on:
School | Pos | Name | BA | RBI | R | HR | SB-A |
UT | 3B | Nick Senzel | .336 | 48 | 46 | 5 | 16-17 |
UT | OF | Vincent Jackson | .355 | 48 | 35 | 7 | 7-11 |
UT | 1B | Jordan Rodgers | .294 | 53 | 30 | 4 | 10-10 |
UT | OF | Chris Hall | .325 | 15 | 39 | 0 | 6-6 |
MU | 1B | Zach Lavy | .352 | 42 | 37 | 5 | 3-7 |
MU | OF | Jake Ring | .318 | 19 | 29 | 1 | 21-26 |
MU | SS | Ryan Howard | .264 | 18 | 32 | 3 | 10-14 |
MU | DH | Trey Harris | .250 | 31 | 23 | 1 | 9-14 |
School | Arm | Name | ERA | WHIP | K | BAA | W-L (S) |
UT | LHP | Aaron Soto | 4.02 | 1.24 | 27 | .234 | 4-2 |
UT | LHP | Zach Warren | 2.88 | 1.31 | 52 | .259 | 5-4 |
UT | LHP | Andy Cox | 6.02 | 1.68 | 53 | .250 | 2-3 (2) |
MU | RHP | Reggie McClain | 3.89 | 1.23 | 56 | .279 | 3-2 |
MU | RHP | Tanner Houck | 3.20 | 0.98 | 75 | .194 | 4-4 |
MU | RHP | Brian Sharp | 2.95 | 1.50 | 19 | .210 | 2-1 (5) |
Go Vols!