IBTIT: Tennessee Vols at Vanderbilt Commodores Baseball Series Preview (May 10, 11, 12)

Like (Vandy) Boyz II (Tennessee) Men, we've come to the end of the road (trips)

Recently: Tennessee (40-9, 17-7 SEC) took two of three games against Florida last weekend (6-2, 3-4, 16-3) in the season’s penultimate road trip. The Vols also survived a scare from Queens on Tuesday, needing a 4-run 7th inning and fending off a bases-loaded Royals threat in the 9th to win 6-3 in the midweek contest.

Meanwhile Vanderbilt (33-16, 11-13 SEC) got swept in Athens last weekend, including run-ruled games on Friday and Saturday (0-10, 4-14). The Commodores did win their midweek game against Louisville 4-2 Tuesday. But Vandy hasn’t had a SEC series win since a mid-April homestand against Florida, and has lost three of their last four SEC series overall.

Previously on Vols vs. Dores: Tennessee has won seven in a row against Vanderbilt, going 8-2 in the last 10, and hasn’t lost a series to the Commodores since 2019. The last two years have provided some memorable moments, including the Jordan Beck sticker incident in 2021, which gave rise to potentially the greatest Tony Vitello soundbite ever (a category with plenty of competition):

And last year’s rally in game 1 of the series, in which Dylan Dreiling tied the game in the bottom of the 9th with a 2-run HR, and Griffin Merritt won with a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 12th:

That’s arguably the moment that set UT on the road to Omaha in 2023. Vandy would like to see the inverse happen in Nashville this weekend, while the Vols want to solidify that newly-minted #1 ranking.

Preview Graphic:

This will be the first time in a long time that Vanderbilt enters the series unranked (in most polls—it’s college baseball so the plethora of polls has Vandy ranked somewhere, I’m sure). But that doesn’t lessen the importance of the weekend. In fact, in some ways it might ramp up the intensity as the Dores want to improve their potential NCAA seed (Vanderbilt is currently projected as a three-seed in the Charlottesville regional) and the Vols want to prove their #1 ranking is deserved.

Considering the ranking of each team and how far you have to have to scroll down the list of league leaders to find a Vandy batter in nearly every offensive category, you’d assume the Vols will make easy work of the Commodores this weekend. But the RPI, which sees the Vols a little differently than the pollsters do (Tennessee is #8 in RPI, Vanderbilt is #22), would say otherwise. While UT is favored in 2/3 games this weekend, Friday night is basically close enough to be considered a toss-up:

So it should probably go without saying, but before you assume anything about these two teams, remember that life on the road in this conference is tough, and this is the sport Vanderbilt is actually good at. That being said, it is realistic to expect a series win for the Vols in Nashville this weekend.