No. 2 Texas Kicking Off SEC Tournament Against No. 21 Tennessee

The Longhorns take on the Volunteers, looking for their first ever SEC Tournament win.

Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was undoubtedly a successful first year in the SEC for the No. 2 Texas Longhorns (42-11, 22-8). Coming on strong in their debut campaign, they took care of business week in and week out and secured the regular season conference championship.

This success and dominance over the course of their 30 SEC games secured the No. 1 overall seed and a double bye in the SEC Tournament. As a result, they were able to sit through the first two days of games and wait to find out who they would playing come Thursday afternoon.

After two days of play in Hoover, that has been decided, as the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (42-15, 16-14) defeated Alabama in a 15-10 offensive slugfest. For the Volunteers, another win would push them int othe semifinals and boost their chances at hosting a regional. As for the Longhorns, they are all but guaranteed to host a regional and will be looking to further secure the No. 1 national seed.

Texas catcher Rylan Galvan (6) runs to first base during the Longhorns' game against Lamar at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How to watch/listen:

Thursday May 22 at 3 p.m. CT - SEC Network/TexasSports.com/Audio

A look at Tennessee's season so far -

Tennessee started the season blisteringly hot, roaring out of the gate to an absurd 20-1 record. They started equally as strong in conference play as well, managing to win each of their first three SEC series with a pair of sweeps. After that, though, the Volunteers scuffled down the stretch and dropped six of their final seven conference series heading into the SEC Tournament.

They bounce back in their first game though, looking dominant at the plate in a 15-10 win over Alabama on Wednesday.

Tennessee by the numbers:

• Record - 42-15 (16-14)

• Runs scored - 481

• Runs allowed - 249

• Team Avg. - .310

• Team Avg. against - .228

• Team ERA - 3.83

Tennessee wins this game if...

It gets a typical outing from ace Liam Doyle. This may sound like a simple answer but one look at Doyle's numbers throughout the season and it becomes evident just how good he has been on the mound for the Volunteers. In fact, he has been one of the best pitchers in the nation all campaign long.

He's made 15 appearances, 14 of which have been starts, and sports a 9-3 record with a 2.72 ERA. More impressive, though, are his 137 strikeouts to just 25 walks while holding opponents to a .171 average. This does not bode particularly well for a Longhorns' team that has been strikeout happy to end the regular season.

If Doyle is Doyle in this one, don't be surprised if he mows down the Texas lineup and sends Tennessee to the SEC Tournament semifinals.

Texas wins this game if....

It can manage to cut back on the strikeouts and force Doyle to work for every out. While it is possible, it is highly unlikely that the Longhorns simply won't strikeout at all against the Volunteers. Doyle is far too dominant and at the end of the day, they put together a lineup that has a penchant for racking up strikeouts.

However, if they can work counts, foul off pitches and drive up his pitch count early, it would go a long way toward winning their first SEC Tournament game. They've shown they can do this, too, even with their recent uptick in strikeouts to end the regular season. If they can cut down on said strikeouts, then they have a strong chance at getting their first ever SEC Tournament win.

feed