Tennessee
Seldom has Vanderbilt baseball looked as much an underdog as it does vs Tennessee | Estes
No one is going to feel sorry for Vanderbilt baseball, especially those dudes across the state in orange.
The fact that Tennessee entered this weekend’s series at Hawkins Field ranked No. 1 in the nation isn’t some outlier in our state’s best college sports rivalry. It was the continuation of a shift that dates back a few years now.
So, too, was the Vols’ 8-4 victory over the unranked Commodores in Friday’s Game 1, which made it eight in a row in the series. With a monstrous offense and overachieving pitching staff that keeps piecing together outs and wins, Tony Vitello’s Tennessee (41-9, 18-7 SEC) is barreling toward a return to the College World Series, likely hosting the NCAA regionals and super regionals along the way.
In the coming weeks, there will be plenty more to say about these Vols.
As for the rest of this weekend, that looms far more important for Vanderbilt (33-17, 11-14).
It’ll have two more opportunities to break the in-state jinx and start turning a sinking season before it’s too late. Not impossible.
But seldom have Tim Corbin’s Vandy Boys looked as much an underdog as they do right now.
All is not well on that side of the diamond. Vanderbilt’s sub-standard hitting is now paired with an underachieving pitching staff that’s banged-up, hurting for confidence and increasingly unreliable in critical situations.
Friday’s loss — during which the Commodores’ bullpen blew a 4-3 eighth-inning lead — wasn’t just another deflating setback to their in-state rival. It was their sixth SEC loss in a row, period. During that stretch, they have been outscored 58-26.
Hopes to host an NCAA regional are all but gone. You’d think an NCAA bid remains assured. But look at Vanderbilt’s five remaining regular-season games: Two more this weekend against Tennessee, followed by a three-game series at No. 5 Kentucky.
Something needs to go right for Vanderbilt. Quickly.
And that’s why Friday night’s blown lead felt especially cruel. Because the Commodores and their home fans had started to sense a turning point was at hand. Starting pitcher Bryce Cunningham gave them that belief, striking out 10 and allowing only three runs in 6⅔ innings.
“He attacked, obviously, a good offensive team,” Corbin said of Cunningham. “I thought he did what he needed to do to put us in a good position to win.”
Down to their final six outs, the Vols just grabbed their bats and swatted aside the Commodores like a minor annoyance. A five-run eighth inning featured home runs by Kavares Tears and Cannon Peebles. Vanderbilt’s freshman relief pitchers Miller Green and Brennan Seiber combined to allow five hits and five runs in 2⅓ innings.
That Corbin, facing the nation’s most powerful offense, chose to hand a one-run lead to a freshman in Green suggested a lack of faith in the rest of his (healthy) pitching staff.
“I mean, we’ve got what we’ve got, OK,” Corbin said when asked afterward about his bullpen’s struggles, “unless Jesus comes into the picture.”
It wasn’t just the pitching. The 3-4-5 hitters in Vanderbilt’s lineup were a collective 0-for-11, with five strikeouts. Tennessee’s A.J. Causey, who slipped to allow three runs in the sixth inning that put Vanderbilt ahead 4-3, was able to stay in the game. He threw the final 6⅓ innings, thus saving Vols arms for the remainder of the series.
After losing the starting role on Friday nights, Causey has been effective out of the bullpen for Tennessee, which has gotten by without injured pitcher A.J. Russell, who was expected to star atop the Vols’ rotation this season.
Entering this weekend, they haven’t lost an SEC series since the first one in March.
They are a legit powerhouse and national title contender.
If this Vanderbilt team wants to have a chance to be viewed that way again this season, it’ll need to figure out a way to finally beat them before the losing streak grows.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
The Tennessee Volunteers are set to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional.
Tennessee’s road to repeating as national champs continues on Saturday as they will take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional. The two teams faced off in the regular season and Arkansas took the series. Tennessee won the first game but the Razorbacks won the next two games to take the series.
The two teams will play in a best of three series. The winner will move on to play in Omaha in the College World Series.
The Vols will be looking to end their recent struggles against the Razorbacks this weekend. UT’s last series win against Arkansas came in 2005 while its last series win in Fayetteville was back in 2001.
This weekend will mark the seventh super regional for Tennessee in program history. The Vols have won five of their previous six supers and have posted an 11-4 overall record in those six appearances. After winning the 2025 Knoxville Regional last week, UT is now 26-6 all-time in NCAA regional games played at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and 31-9 overall in NCAA postseason games at home.
First pitch is set for 5 PM ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN for those who want to watch.
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OTHER TENNESSEE NEWS
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The cliches are abundant when it comes to team camaraderie.
Every group is close together and cares for each other, but rarely does an actual activity bring a hodgepodge of transfers, freshmen, and returning players together.
Fishing, something near and dear to second baseman Cam Kozeal’s heart, has brought Arkansas together as they prepare for their Super Regional matchup against Tennessee.
Left fielder Charles Davalan by his own admission was never the biggest fisherman, but equally passionate about fishing tactics as he is baseball just 24 hours before the most important game of the season.
“Lost my bait this morning,” Davalan said. “I guess I didn’t put the hook on right. But yeah, I lost my bait this morning. I wasn’t too happy about that.”
Kozeal, who split his childhood between Omaha, Nebraska, and rural Sargent, Nebraska, takes pride in his fishing skills. He gave the scouting report on his teammates’ abilities.
“Some guys have gotten a lot better than others,” Kozeal said. “Some are still learning. Brent’s gotten really good. V’s (Wehiwa Aloy) unbelievable, he’s a patient fisherman. Kuhio, if he feels anything on the end of the line, he just sets the hook about as hard as he swings the bat.”
Fishing abilities aside, Arkansas using the newfound hobby as a way to come together as they chase the elusive title. In the age of the transfer portal, coaches are always trying to get a group of new college kids to pull in the same direction as quickly as possible.
“We noticed it in the fall and you always discuss it with your team,” coach Dave Van Horn said about the togetherness. “With all that goes on in the offseason with the portal and new guys, a lot of guys drafted, guys coming in that weren’t here, somehow some way we got to get you guys to kind of gel and like each other and care about each other.”
With school out, there’s a lot of downtime between the regional and the Super Regional, When the Razorbacks take the field for the first game, it will have been 6 full days since the Hogs took the field against Creighton.
Not constantly thinking about baseball and having something to get away to could prove beneficial as the run to the College World Series continues,
“Going out during the day and not just sitting on your couch all day helps,” Kozeal said. “Can also help the mind. You’re not always so tense and focused on baseball, maybe you get away from the game a little bit and that helps some guys.”
No matter what happens this weekend, they’ll be no reports of friction that come tumbling out years later. The team may be in different spots in their fishing journey, but their baseball journey culminates in a series against Tennessee with a spot to Omaha on the line.
“It’s also a fraternity,” Van Horn said. “They’re hanging out, they get to know each other, they’ve become good friends in there, I really believe that.”
First pitch between Arkansas and Tennesee is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.
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