IBTIT: Tennessee Vols at Florida Gators Baseball Series Preview (May 2, 3, 4)

You can't spell "penultimate regular season road trip" without UT

Recently: Tennessee (37-8, 15-6 SEC) swept Missouri last week, but after a blowout 10-1 win over the Tigers on Thursday, UT had to grind out 3-2 wins on both Friday and Saturday. Then the Vols suffered their first midweek loss of the season to Lipscomb, falling 6-9 on Tuesday night. The question becomes can the Vols quit scuffling on the road against a Florida (23-21, 9-12 SEC) team that hasn’t won a SEC series since taking two against Mississippi State in March. For example, the Gators went 1-2 in Fayetteville last weekend (1-2, 5-6, 9-5), but the games were close, and UF won their midweek game against FAU 10-8. Midweek games have not been easy for the Gators, with a 4-3 midweek record since SEC play began.

So the storyline of the series seems to be can the Gators, who need a breakthrough series win, keep Tennessee on the struggle bus and steal a series win? Or did the midweek loss shake enough cobwebs off the Vols to return to recent form and hammer Florida in Gainesville? (BTW, RPI favors UT in 2/3 games.)

Previously on Vols vs. Gators: The Vols dropped two of three games in Knoxville a year ago (1-6, 3-9, 14-2). In that series finale win, though, UT ran Jac Caglianone in the first inning, working the Florida LHP for six walks and three runs before being pulled—Caglianone is slated to start Game 3 Saturday. Tennessee trails the all-time series 95-156, including a 44-83 record in Gainesville, but did sweep the Gators on the last trip to Florida in 2022.

I’m running short on time to get this preview published, so I asked Google’s Gemini to write a preview for us. Enjoy the fairly generic musings of our AI overlords :

Tennessee vs. Florida: A Clash in the Swamp

This weekend's SEC East showdown features the red-hot #3 Tennessee Volunteers (37-8, 15-6) traveling to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators (23-21, 9-12) in a crucial series for both teams.

Tennessee's Take:

• The Vols are on a roll, having won 10 of their last 11 SEC games and sweeping their last three road series against the Gators.

• Their offense is clicking, and their pitching staff boasts a strong ERA.

• A win or sweep would solidify their place at the top of the conference standings.

Florida's Fight:

• The Gators are struggling, having lost four straight SEC series and needing a strong finish to make the NCAA Tournament.

• Outfielder (I lost a little faith in Gemini here, Caglianone plays 1B—AK) Jac Caglianone is on fire with a 30-game on-base streak and a 24-game hitting streak.

• They'll look to exploit any weaknesses in Tennessee's pitching and steal some home-field advantage.

Storylines to Watch:

• Can Florida pull off an upset against a top-ranked team?

• Will Tennessee continue their dominant run on the road?

• Who will emerge as the pitching heroes in this high-stakes series?

How to Watch:

• The series opener is tonight (Thursday, May 2nd) at 7 PM ET on ESPN.

• Games 2 and 3 will be on Friday and Saturday at 6:30 PM ET on SEC Network+.

This promises to be an exciting series with major implications for both teams. Don't miss it!

Thanks, Google.