Scouting Report: Tre Morgan

On Saturday, the Volunteers will have their first game in the College World Series against the LSU Tigers. The Tigers are one of the hottest teams in baseball, coming off a great performance in the super-regional round against Kentucky. The Tigers outscored Kentucky 22-3 throughout two games. One of the premiere batters in the LSU lineup is first baseman Tre Morgan. The junior out of New Orleans, Louisiana, has played brilliantly this season.

Morgan has a .312 season batting average and a .502 slugging percentage. He is also a spark plug within the Tigers' lineup, who can get extra-base hits often. He is tied for first on the team in triples. Arguably his most impressive performance was game one of the Baton Rouge super regional against Kentucky. Morgan went 4 for 5 with two home runs and three RBIs. He also touched a remarkable ten total bases in that game. That game was his season high for hits in a game as well. Overall, Morgan has been very good in the NCAA tournament batting .347. Looking at his game, Tennessee has to make sure not to be intimated by the numbers that Morgan provides. He was 33 walks this year, which is top five on the LSU team. He does show the patience to be walked, so the Vol pitchers cannot be willing to give him any "free ones." One thing to note is that Morgan is not as likely to go after stolen bases as some of his teammates. He has no stolen bases and has only attempted one all season.

Manager Tony Vitello and the Volunteers can note that he is not as big of a threat on the base paths as some of the other members of the LSU lineup. The pitching staff for the Vols needs to put pressure on Morgan to force the issue for a patient batter that can get it done at any moment.

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