Series Preview: Georgia @ No. 1 Tennessee

Top-ranked Tennessee baseball (D1baseball.com) will host the Georgia Bulldogs for their penultimate and final home regular season SEC series. This weekend, the Vols will be looking to bounce back in Lindsey Nelson Stadium after losing their first series of the season last week against Kentucky. In game one, the Wildcats edged the Vols 3-2 in extra innings and defeated UT 5-2 in a rain-delayed game two. Tennessee avoided their first series sweep in three years, however, rebounding to drub the Cats 7-2 in the series finale.

On Tuesday, the Vols made it two wins in a row with an 11-5 midweek victory over Bellarmine. Three Vols left the yard, and the Big Orange tallied 14 hits in their 12th midweek win.

First pitch between Tennessee and Georgia for the series opener is set for Thursday, May 12, at 7 p.m. ET. ESPNU will have the stream. If the Vols take the series opener, they'll be two SEC victories away from clinching the regular season SEC title. Therefore, if Tennessee sweeps the SEC East rival this weekend, the Vols win the conference outright for the first time since 1995.

Tennessee can also win the SEC with some help from Vanderbilt. If the Commodores sweep Arkansas, Tennessee wins the SEC no matter what they do against Georgia. Tennessee's most likely combination of events to win the conference this weekend is for the Vols to win two against Georgia and Arkansas lose one to Vanderbilt.

But the BaseVols have preached an SEC title, while cool, is not something on their mind.

"Obviously, it'd be cool, but I'm serious... no one really talks about it. It's just not something that is mentioned," Vols junior outfielder Drew Gilbert noted after Tennessee's midweek win over Bellarmine.

Drew Gilbert and Tennessee's focus is Georgia. So let's see what the Bulldogs bring to the table.

Georgia Breakdown

Georgia (32-16, 13-11 SEC) will be coming off a series loss just like Tennessee, as Vanderbilt downed Georgia in Athens last weekend. Still, the Bulldogs present yet another tough SEC opponent for the Volunteers (43-6, 20-4 SEC). While Georgia is 4-5 in SEC series this year, they bring an experienced roster and one of the best pitching prospects of the class to Rocky Top.

Georgia's day two starter RHP Jonathan Cannon boasts a 2.38 ERA and 9-1 record in 10 starts this season and is ranked No. 52 in MLB.com's Prospect Rankings for the 2022 MLB Draft. But Cannon is an anomaly in the Bulldogs' staff, as Georgia holds the second-worst combined ERA (7.07) of any team in conference play and has allowed the most runs with 178.

If any team can exploit Georgia's poor pitching, it's Tennessee. On Tuesday, the Vols' three home runs brought their season total to 113, which leads the NCAA by 13 over Old Dominion (100).

RHP Nolan Crisp (1-3, 5.17 ERA) will get the ball to start things off for Georgia on Thursday, and LHP Liam Sullivan (3-3, 4.91 ERA) will start on day three.

On the flip side of the Red and Black's pitching is their hitting, one of the best in the conference. Georgia enters the weekend second in the conference in batting average (.281) and third in hits and runs scored, with 238 and 153, respectively. Outfielder Connor Tate (.354 avg., 63 H 49 RBI, .607 SLG%, 30 BB, .452 OB %) and 3B/1B Parks Harber (.302 avg., 51 H, 43 RBI, .485 SLG%, 16 BB, .368 OB%) are the top Bulldog bats for the Vols to watch out for.

While Georgia presents a challenge at the plate for Tennessee, the Bulldogs face the SEC's most dangerous buzzsaw on the mound, as the Vols' pitching staff has far in a way the best ERA in the conference with a 2.47.

Changes for Tennessee

However, Georgia's bats will face a Big Orange rotation no other team has seen this season, as Tony Vitello and UT's coaching staff decided to change things up a bit for the last regular season home series.

Sophomore RHP Chase Dollander (6-0, 2.66 ERA) gets the starting nod for the series opener, the first time Dollander will start on game one this season. Tennessee's usual day one starter–freshman RHP Chase Burns (7-1, 2.25 ERA)–is not a projected starter in UT's game notes for the series.

And neither is fellow freshman starter Drew Beam, who has served as Tennessee's day three starter all season. The Vols' day three starter is listed as 'TBD' in the game notes, while sophomore ace Blade Tidwell (1-1, 3.18 ERA) will start in game two for the third consecutive week.

Dollander gets his first SEC start since returning from an elbow injury he sustained in the Alabama series, and it comes a week after the Georgia Southern transfer made his first SEC appearance upon return from his injury. Dollander was fantastic in 4.0 innings of work in game two against Kentucky, allowing only two hits and one run while dealing five strikeouts. There is no doubt Dollander has earned the start for how he's looked since his return and how he's pitched all season for the Volunteers outside of the Baylor game.

Plus, starting Dollander allows Burns or Beam, whichever freshman will not start on Sunday, to get some much-needed rest as the postseason looms. The pitcher that does not receive a start in the series may throw a few innings to stay warm, but Vitello is likely to ensure Burns or Beam's pitch count is low for the weekend. Burns and Beam were lights out for the beginning and middle part of the season, but the pair of freshmen have not been as sharp in the past month. In addition, all of Tennessee's top arms will be needed in the SEC Tournament, NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and the College World Series if the Vols make it that deep, so the rest will serve Beam/Burns and the Volunteers well.

Note: There is a scenario Burns nor Beam start on Sunday. Camden Sewell, Ben Joyce and Zander Sechrist are all options to start for Tennessee if Vitello so chooses.

Regardless of who throws for the Vols, Tennessee has plenty of options to start against the Bulldogs as they look to earn their ninth conference series win.

How to Watch All Three Games

Game One @ 7 p.m. ET: ESPNU

Game Two @ 5:30 p.m. ET: SEC Network

Game Three @ 1 p.m. ET SEC Network +

Tony Vitello's Bellarmine recap/Georgia preview press conference is at the top of the article. 

Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics

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