University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, March 16
Oxford, MS
8 P.M. ET
University of Tennessee
at
#8 Ole Miss
Baseball Central: Tennessee at #8 Ole Miss
March 15, 2018 | Baseball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee travels to Oxford, Mississippi this weekend to open Southeastern Conference play against No. 8 Ole Miss at Oxford-University Stadium, Swayze Field.
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The Vols enter this weekend's series on a four-game win streak following a series sweep at Cincinnati and a midweek shutout win over Western Carolina on Wednesday. The eighth-ranked Rebels will be the first ranked team UT has faced this season.
Projected Starting Pitchers
All three games between the Vols and Rebels will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN). Parts of Friday's series opener will be shown on the SEC Network as part of its "Bases Loaded" coverage.
There will also be a live radio broadcast for all three games on Sports Radio WNML and UTSports.com.
Series History vs. Ole Miss
Overall: Ole Miss leads, 45-36-1
In Oxford: Ole Miss leads, 22-17-1
Last Meeting: W, 4-2 (4/5/15)
Last Five: Ole Miss leads, 3-2
The Vols have won the last two meetings against the Rebels, taking two of three from Ole Miss in Oxford back in 2015. The Rebels had won the previous eight meetings prior to that.Â
Need to Know
Ole Miss Rebels (17-1, 0-0 SEC)
Following this weekend's series against the Rebels, the Vols return home to host ETSU on Tuesday, March 20 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN).
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MORE INFO
Game Times & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: Ole Miss Rebels
- Venue: Oxford-University Stadium (Oxford, Miss.)
- Game 1: Friday, March 16 – 8 p.m. ET (WATCH)
- Game 2: Saturday, March 17 – 2:30 p.m. ET (WATCH)
- Game 3: Sunday, March 18 – 2:30 p.m. ET (WATCH)
- Stream: SEC Network + (WatchESPN)
- Radio: WNML / UTSports.com
- Live Stats: UTSports.com
Tennessee Volunteers (12-6)
Roster Schedule Stats Game NotesOle Miss Rebels (17-1)
Roster Schedule StatsÂ
The Vols enter this weekend's series on a four-game win streak following a series sweep at Cincinnati and a midweek shutout win over Western Carolina on Wednesday. The eighth-ranked Rebels will be the first ranked team UT has faced this season.
Projected Starting Pitchers
- LHP Garrett Crochet (1-2, 3.57 ERA) vs. LHP Ryan Rolison (3-1, 2.28 ERA)
- RHP Garrett Stallings (3-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP Brady Feigl (4-0, 1.03 ERA)
- TBD vs. RHP James McArthur (2-0, 1.74 ERA)
All three games between the Vols and Rebels will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN). Parts of Friday's series opener will be shown on the SEC Network as part of its "Bases Loaded" coverage.
There will also be a live radio broadcast for all three games on Sports Radio WNML and UTSports.com.
Series History vs. Ole Miss
Overall: Ole Miss leads, 45-36-1
In Oxford: Ole Miss leads, 22-17-1
Last Meeting: W, 4-2 (4/5/15)
Last Five: Ole Miss leads, 3-2
The Vols have won the last two meetings against the Rebels, taking two of three from Ole Miss in Oxford back in 2015. The Rebels had won the previous eight meetings prior to that.Â
Need to Know
- Tennessee is on a four-game win streak after defeating Western Carolina on Wednesday and sweeping Cincinnati on the road last weekend. It was the first road series sweep by the Vols since 2010 when they swept Georgia in Athens.
- The Vols starting pitching has been dominant over the past two weeks with all of UT's starters pitching at least eight innings in each of the team's last four games. In that span, the Vols' starters (Sean Hunley, Garrett Crochet, Garrett Stallings, Will Neely) have a combined ERA of 1.32.
- UT pitchers have thrown back-to-back complete games entering this weekend's series, marking the first time that has happened since Craig Cobb and James Adkins did it against Florida back in 2006.
- Benito Santiago has been the driving force behind the Vols' offense and has reached base in 17 straight games after a 3-for-4 performance on Wednesday.
- Santiago leads the SEC with 10 doubles, is tied for fourth in the league with 26 hits and ranks eighth in the conference with a .394 batting average. Â Â
- Friday's projected starter, freshman lefty Garrett Crochet was stellar in his first-career start last week, tossing eight strong innings in UT's series-opening win at Cincinnati on Friday. Crochet allowed just five hits and two runs (one earned) while posting a new career high in strikeouts with eight.
- Brodie Leftridge came up with the eventual game-winning hit on Friday night, an RBI single in the 12th. He finished with two hits on the day.
- Leftridge has another big game in Saturday's series-clinching victory over the Bearcats with two RBI singles that tied the game on both occasions.
- The Vols rode an impressive complete-game performance from RHP Will Neely to complete the series sweep of Cincinnati on Sunday. Neely gave up just five hits and one run while striking out five in his first-career complete game performance.
- UT exploded for seven runs in the first inning of Tuesday's 10-1 win over James Madison. It marked the most runs scored in an inning by the Vols this season. It was also the most runs scored in an inning for UT since also scoring seven in the seventh inning of an 18-4 win over Austin Peay on March 15, 2017.
- Freshman Brandon Trammell hit his first-career home run in Tuesday's win over the Dukes, a pinch hit, two-run shot in the seventh inning. The Vols have now hit two pinch-hit homers this season and both have come off the bats of true freshmen (Trammell and Evan Russell).
Ole Miss Rebels (17-1, 0-0 SEC)
- 2017 Record: 32-25 (14-16 SEC)
- 2017 Postseason: N/A
- Picked to finish third in the SEC's Western Division in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
- Return 11 position players and nine pitchers from last season and added 14 newcomers.
- Junior Chase Cockrell leads the team with a .486 batting average while Thomas Dillard and Nick Fortes have provided the power with four homers each and 31 combined RBI.
- The Rebels pitching staff ranks third in the SEC with a team ERA of 2.29. Their weekend rotation has combined to go 9-1 and all three pitchers have ERA's of 2.28 or better.
- Ole Miss pitchers lead the SEC with 183 strikeouts.
Following this weekend's series against the Rebels, the Vols return home to host ETSU on Tuesday, March 20 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on SEC Network + (WatchESPN).
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Players Mentioned
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