KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee closes out the regular season with a decisive series at Missouri this Thursday-Saturday that will determine who advances to Hoover, Ala., for the 2018 SEC Tournament next week.

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Game Times & Broadcast Info

Opponent: Missouri Tigers
Location: Columbia, Mo.
Venue: Taylor Stadium (3,031)
Game 1: Thursday, May 17 – 6:30 p.m. ET (WATCH)
Game 2: Friday, May 18 – 6:30 p.m. ET (WATCH)
Game 3: Saturday, May 19 – 3 p.m. ET (WATCH)
TV/Stream: SEC Network+ (WatchESPN)
Radio: Sports Radio WNML / UTSports.com
Live Stats: UTSports.com

Tennessee (28-25, 11-16 SEC)

Roster Schedule Stats

Missouri (32-20, 10-17 SEC)

Roster Schedule Stats

The Vols enter the series holding the final spot for the SEC Tournament, one game ahead of the Tigers, essentially making this weekend's series a win and advance scenario.

Broadcast Info
The entire series will be streamed live on SEC Network+ (WatchESPN). Beau Baehman (PxP) and Tim Jamieson (Color) will have the call on Thursday while Ben Arnet (PxP) and Jamieson will call Friday and Saturday's games.

John Wilkerson will also call the action on Sports Radio WNML (FM 99.1 / AM 990) / UTSports.com for all three games.

Series History vs. Missouri
Overall: Missouri leads, 10-5
In Knoxville: Missouri leads, 6-3
In Columbia: Missouri leads, 4-2
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: L, 8-2 (5/20/17)

After Tennessee won five of the first seven meetings in the series, Missouri has dominated over the past three seasons, winning eight straight games, including a sweep in Knoxville last season.

Need to Know

Tennessee won its series finale over Vanderbilt, 8-7, on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
UT enters the final weekend of the regular season holding a one-game lead over Missouri for the last spot in the SEC Tournament.
The Vols have been strong at home in SEC play this season with nine of their 11 league wins coming at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. UT finished with a winning conference record at home (9-6) for the first time since 2005.
The Big Orange will be looking to win their first SEC road series this season this week.
Tennessee's sophomore class has carried the load offensively this season, accounting for 59 percent of the team's hits (266), 60 percent of the team's runs (174), 53 percent of the team's RBI (139), 57 percent of the team's total bases (382), 72 percent of the team's extra-base hits (72) and 77 percent of the team's stolen bases (36).
Sophomore SS Andre Lipcius had another strong showing last weekend, leading the team in batting average, hits, home runs, total bases, slugging and on-base percentage.
Lipcius was the only Vol to record a hit in all three games against Vanderbilt and had what turned out to be the game-winning hit in Sunday's series finale, breaking a 6-6 tie with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth.
Over the past 10 games, Lipcius is batting .382 and leads the team with nine runs, 13 hits, two homers, eight RBI, a .588 slugging percentage and a .488 on-base percentage. He also has played stellar defensively as of late, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage over the past 15 games.
Sophomore RHP Garrett Stallings has been lights out since moving to the bullpen for the past two weekends. In his past two appearances, Stallings has allowed just four hits and one run in 6.1 innings of work, picking up a save and a win in those two games.
Junior RHP Will Neely has been UT's most reliable starter this season with a 4-1 record and a team-best 3.98 ERA in SEC play. He also leads the conference with three complete games and has thrown at least five innings in eight of his nine SEC starts.

Opponent Scout
Missouri Tigers

Record: 32-20 (10-17 SEC)
2017 Postseason: N/A
Were picked to finish sixth in the SEC's Eastern Division in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, one spot ahead of Tennessee.
Have lost last three SEC series and eight of their past 10 conference games.
The duo of Brian Sharp and Trey Harris leads the Tigers offensively. The two are tied for the team lead with 61 hits and have combined for 83 RBI. Harris leads the team with 10 homers and 46 runs batted in.
Pitching and defense have been the strengths of Missouri season as the Tigers rank fifth in the SE with a 3.82 team ERA and second in the conference with 495 strikeouts. Mizzou also ranks fourth in the league with a .981 fielding percentage.
Junior LHP Tyler LaPlante ranks fourth in the SEC with a 2.67 ERA while fellow junior lefty Michael Plassmeyer is tied for third in the conference with 92 strikeouts.

The Road To Hoover
The Vols are battling for a spot in the 2018 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., next week. UT enters the final series of the season in the 12^th and final spot for the tournament, one game ahead of Missouri. The clearest path to securing a spot in the tournament is winning this week's series against the Tigers.

On Deck for the Vols
With a series victory this weekend, Tennessee would secure a spot in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala., which begins next Tuesday, May 22.

Baseball Central: Tennessee at Missouri

MORE INFO

Game Times & Broadcast Info

Tennessee (28-25, 11-16 SEC)

Missouri (32-20, 10-17 SEC)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andre Lipcius

Will Neely

Garrett Stallings

University of Tennessee Athletics

Baseball Central: Tennessee at Missouri

MORE INFO

Game Times & Broadcast Info

Tennessee (28-25, 11-16 SEC)

Missouri (32-20, 10-17 SEC)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Andre Lipcius

Will Neely

Garrett Stallings

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