Can Tennessee baseball continue its dominance of Vanderbilt? What to know about No. 1 Vols
Tennessee baseball is the top team in the nation heading into its series at Vanderbilt, which it has dominated in recent seasons.
The No. 1 Vols (40-9, 17-7 SEC) face the Commodores (33-16, 11-13) in a three-game set starting Friday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Here is what to know about the matchup:
Tennessee baseball has owned recent history against Vanderbilt
Tennessee has not lost to Vanderbilt since April 18, 2021. Since then, the Vols have swept Vanderbilt in two straight seasons and picked up an SEC Tournament win in 2022 to ride a seven-game winning streak into the series.
UT also has won back-to-back SEC East titles, including edging Vanderbilt by a half-game in 2021.
Vanderbilt has not swept Tennessee since 2013, while Vols coach Tony Vitello has a 10-6 record against the Commodores.
Tennessee baseball can make SEC title push at Vanderbilt
Tennessee is a game back of first place in the SEC heading into the penultimate weekend.
The Vols trail first-place No. 5 Kentucky by a game. The Wildcats play at Florida in a weekend series before closing by hosting Vanderbilt. UT is tied for second place in the SEC with No. 3 Arkansas, which hosts No. 15 Mississippi State before closing at No. 2 Texas A&M. The Aggies are in third place, a game back of UT and Arkansas.
Tennessee closes the regular season against No. 14 South Carolina.
Vanderbilt is a different team at home vs. on the road
Vanderbilt was hammered by Georgia in a decisive sweep entering the UT series. The Commodores' vaunted pitching staff allowed at least 10 runs in every game and no starter went deeper than three innings. They allowed 35 runs on 31 hits with 22 walks, nine hit batters and only 12 strikeouts as a staff.
But that's on the road: The Commodores have given up eight or more runs in 10 of 12 SEC away games, but once in SEC home games.
"They’ve played very well at home," Vitello said. "I probably sound annoying when I talk about it, but I just don’t look at stuff that I don’t want to put energy into. But if it’s loud enough, you do hear it. I do know that they’ve been very strong at home. So that’s certainly a strength of their team."
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball vs. Vanderbilt: Scouting report
