University of Tennessee Athletics
BASEBALL CENTRAL: 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament
May 23, 2016 | Baseball
Photo Gallery - Travel & Day One
HOOVER, Ala. -- Tennessee Baseball returns to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament for its third consecutive year, taking on the No. 5 seed LSU Tigers (39-17, 19-11 SEC) in the first round of play on Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT) at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
Series Info
2016 SEC Baseball Tournament - First Round
- Opponent: No. 5 seed LSU Tigers (39-17, 19-11 SEC)
- Date: Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)
- Venue: Hoover Met. Stadium (Hoover, Ala.)
- Radio: UTSports.com
- Broadcast: SEC Network
No. 12 seed Tennessee (29-27, 9-21 SEC)
Roster Schedule StatsNo. 5 seed LSU (39-17, 19-11 SEC)
Roster Schedule StatsIn its 19th year returning to the Hoover Met. Stadium, the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament will continue to feature 12 teams this week. Seeds No. 5-12 will meet in a single elimination format on the opening day of the tournament, followed by traditional double elimination play Wednesday, May 25 - Friday, May 27. The tournament will return to single elimination play on Saturday, May 28. A total of 17 games will be played throughout the tournament.
Live game coverage of each of the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament games will be available via national television broadcast on SEC Network, while Sunday's championship game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
For a complete look at the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament bracket and seeding information, click HERE.
Vols in SEC Tournament - Quick Facts
- Overall Record: 25-23 (.521)
- Tournament Titles: 3 (Most-recent: 1995)
- Previous Tournament Appearances: 14
Tennessee vs. LSU - SEC Tournament History
- Overall vs. LSU: LSU leads, 2-1
- Last SEC Tournament Matchup: 2005 (UT won, 5-1)
Tennessee vs. LSU All-Time
- Overall vs. LSU: LSU leads, 55-22
- In Knoxville: LSU leads, 20-13
- In Baton Rouge: LSU leads, 33-8
- Last Series Meeting: LSU swept UT, 3-0, in Knoxville (5/13-15/16)
- Last 10 Games: LSU leads, 9-1, since 2010
Tuesday Pitcher Matchup
- Tuesday, May 24 @ 9 p.m. ET: RHP Will Neely (1-3, 4.27) vs. LHP Jake Latz (0-1, 5.40)
Vols on SEC Charts
Tennessee finished the regular season with a collective .289 team average, the sixth-best mark in the league. Additionally, UT's 89 stolen bases rank first in the SEC, while they also lead the conference with 58 double plays turned over 56 games in 2016.
Among SEC opponents, the Volunteers also rank second in doubles (110), fifth in hits (548), seventh in total runs scored (343) and seventh in on-base percentage (.374).
Tennessee on NCAA charts (as of May 22):
- Nick Senzel - 25 doubles (3rd in NCAA), 59 RBI (T-30th in NCAA)
- Chris Hall - 18 HBP (T-9th in NCAA)
- Team Double Plays - 58 (T-8th in NCAA)
- Team Double Plays/Game - 1.04 (T-13th in NCAA)
- Team Sacrifice Flies - 31 (T-14th in NCAA)
Tennessee is one of just two NCAA Division I programs to have three players boasting 55-or-more RBI in 2016: Nick Senzel (59), Vincent Jackson (56) and Jordan Rodgers (55). UNC Greensboro has four players with 55-or-more RBI this year.
The last time Tennessee had three players with 50-or-more RBI in a season was in 2010 (P.J. Polk - 51, Cody Hawn - 61, Blake Forsythe - 57).
Volunteers rank among the SEC's Top 10 in the following categories:
- Chris Hall - 47 runs scored (T-9th), 18 HBP (T-2nd)
- Brodie Leftridge - four triples (T-7th)
- Jordan Rodgers - 55 RBI (T-4th), 15 doubles (T-9th), five triples (T-3rd), six sacrifice flies (T-3rd)
- Nick Senzel - .354 average (7th), 56 runs scored (T-1st), 59 RBI (2nd), 73 hits (T-10th), 25 doubles (1st), 124 total bases (4th), 40 walks (3rd), five sac flies (T-8th), 24 stolen bases (T-3rd), .459 OBP (4th), .602 SLG (2nd)
- Vincent Jackson - 56 RBI (3rd), nine HBP (T-9th)
- Steven Kane - four runners picked off (T-3rd)
Additionally, Jordan Rodgers (1st - 51) also ranks first in the SEC for the most double plays fielded.
Revisiting the LSU Tigers
Ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll entering the final week of regular-season play, LSU enters this year's SEC Tournament as a No. 5 seed, having taken two of three games against No. 1-ranked Florida in Baton Rouge, La.
Led by head coach Paul Mainieri, LSU finished the 2016 regular season with a 39-17 overall record and a 19-11 mark in SEC play. Down the stretch, the Tigers completed wins in 11 of their last 12 games and put together 17 wins over their last 23 conference games after beginning the season 2-5 in the league.
As a team, LSU holds a .298 team batting average, the third-best mark in the league behind only Texas A&M (.315) and Mississippi State (.313).
Six regular starters are hitting above .300 for the Tigers including outfielder Jake Fraley (.332) and Cole Freeman (.331), each boasting a team-high 24 stolen bases on the year.
Last Weekend's Recap
After dropping the series opener against Georgia in Athens on Thursday, the Vols came back to take the remaining two games and secure their first series win over the Bulldogs since 2010 - helping clinch their spot in the 2016 SEC Baseball Tournament following an Auburn loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
In the Thursday night opener of their final regular-season series, UT chipped away at an early, seven-run lead by Georgia but the effort fell short in a 10-8 final at Foley Field.
Tennessee overcame an early four-run deficit on Friday and staged a ninth-inning rally, taking a 5-4 win over the Bulldogs to even the series.
In the regular-season finale, the Volunteers came out on top of a back-and-forth affair with Georgia, plating three runs in the ninth inning for a 5-2 series-clinching win.
Following a Vanderbilt (41-15, 18-12 SEC) series sweep over the Auburn Tigers (23-33, 8-22 SEC)on Saturday, Tennessee (29-27, 9-21 SEC) clinched a postseason bid to the SEC Baseball Tournament for the third consecutive year.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee baseball program, visit UTSports.com/baseball and follow @Vol_Baseball on Twitter.
