Tennessee baseball faces LSU to start College World Series; how teams fared in regular season series

Tennessee baseball will face a familiar opponent to open the College World Series.

After winning Monday's Hattiesburg Super Regional, the Vols will face LSU on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska, in both teams' first matchup of the CWS.

Tennessee is returning to Omaha for the first time since 2021 and the sixth time in program history. The Vols went two-and-done in 2021, the first appearance of the Tony Vitello era.

LSU won the regular season series 2-1 this season in Baton Rouge. The two teams played a compelling first game, with UT's Chase Dollander dueling against LSU's Paul Skenes. The aces and future first round MLB Draft picks may well draw in again on Saturday.

FROM MONDAY'S WIN: Tennessee baseball's Chase Burns goes berserk after epic 102 mph strikeout in super regional

Here's a game-by-game look at the Vols and Tigers series early in the season:

Tennessee baseball vs. LSU earlier this season

LSU won regular season series, 2-1; played March 30 to April 1 in Baton Rouge

Game 1: LSU 5, Tennessee 2 — Paul Skenes allowed one run in 7 innings with 12 strikeouts, while Chase Dollander lasted 4.2 innings and allowed two earned runs. The game hung in the balance until Jordan Thompson's bases-clearing three-run triple in the 8th inning. A Seth Halvorsen error contributed to loading up the bases for Thompson's go-ahead hit.

Game 2: LSU 6, Tennessee 4 — Home runs by Maui Ahuna, Hunter Ensley and Zane Denton gave Tennessee a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning, but the Tigers countered with home runs by Brady Neal and Gavin Dugas in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Chase Shores (out for the season) and Griffin Herring threw 4 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to clinch the series for LSU.

Chase Burns was still a part of the weekend rotation, allowing five earned runs in 3.1 innings with 7 strikeouts. LSU's Ty Floyd allowed four earned runs in 5 innings.

Game 3: Tennessee 14, LSU 7 — The Vols jumped to a 10-0 lead after an inning and a half to grab the consolation win. Jared Dickey, Kyle Booker and Blake Burke all had three hits. Drew Beam went four innings, allowing only an earned run (the Vols had three errors in the game, so LSU scored six while Beam was throwing). LSU starter Thatcher Hurd did not record an out, allowing six runs on four hits and two walks before being lifted.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball faces LSU to start College World Series