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snippet from the article......
Certainly NC State and Arizona State are strong contenders for this label as well, but we projected both teams as regional teams heading into the season, and the Wolfpack was not far outside our preseason Top 25. Indiana State and UC Santa Barbara are other strong candidates, but again, both teams were right on the cusp of our preseason field of 64 projections, so we’re not shocked by either team’s success.
Tennessee, on the other hand, wasn’t close to anybody’s preseason field of 64 projections. The Volunteers haven’t made a regional since 2005, and we figured they were still at least a year away, even though I recognized obvious signs of progress under second-year coach Tony Vitello when I saw the Vols in the fall. But in our midseason field of 64 projection this week, Tennessee is comfortably in the field as a No. 2 seed. There’s still a long way to go, and the SEC is a meat grinder, but so far, so good for the Vols. At 22-8 overall and No. 9 in the RPI, Tennessee is in good position right now, though it can’t afford to stumble much in conference play because it is just 3-6 in the league at the moment.
But Tennessee made a major splash in the first month, racing out to a 15-0 start and breaking into the D1Baseball Top 25 after winning quality series against Indiana (a sweep) and Fresno State. UT also won a home series against South Carolina, though it dropped both of its tough SEC road series against ranked opponents Auburn and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s calling card is its outstanding pitching, which ranks 11th in the nation in ERA (2.91), second in WHIP (1.07) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.58) under the direction of pitching coach Frank Anderson. Zach Linginfelter, Garrett Stallings, Garrett Crochet and Andrew Schultz have all taken big jumps forward, giving the Vols a quartet of premium arms to build around. Offensively, juniors Luc Lipcius, Ricky Martinez and Justin Ammons are among the SEC’s most improved players, and juco transfer Alerick Soularie has made a massive impact, leading the team with a .383 average and a 1.191 OPS.
Certainly NC State and Arizona State are strong contenders for this label as well, but we projected both teams as regional teams heading into the season, and the Wolfpack was not far outside our preseason Top 25. Indiana State and UC Santa Barbara are other strong candidates, but again, both teams were right on the cusp of our preseason field of 64 projections, so we’re not shocked by either team’s success.
Tennessee, on the other hand, wasn’t close to anybody’s preseason field of 64 projections. The Volunteers haven’t made a regional since 2005, and we figured they were still at least a year away, even though I recognized obvious signs of progress under second-year coach Tony Vitello when I saw the Vols in the fall. But in our midseason field of 64 projection this week, Tennessee is comfortably in the field as a No. 2 seed. There’s still a long way to go, and the SEC is a meat grinder, but so far, so good for the Vols. At 22-8 overall and No. 9 in the RPI, Tennessee is in good position right now, though it can’t afford to stumble much in conference play because it is just 3-6 in the league at the moment.
But Tennessee made a major splash in the first month, racing out to a 15-0 start and breaking into the D1Baseball Top 25 after winning quality series against Indiana (a sweep) and Fresno State. UT also won a home series against South Carolina, though it dropped both of its tough SEC road series against ranked opponents Auburn and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee’s calling card is its outstanding pitching, which ranks 11th in the nation in ERA (2.91), second in WHIP (1.07) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.58) under the direction of pitching coach Frank Anderson. Zach Linginfelter, Garrett Stallings, Garrett Crochet and Andrew Schultz have all taken big jumps forward, giving the Vols a quartet of premium arms to build around. Offensively, juniors Luc Lipcius, Ricky Martinez and Justin Ammons are among the SEC’s most improved players, and juco transfer Alerick Soularie has made a massive impact, leading the team with a .383 average and a 1.191 OPS.
