The Vols and Purple Aces will compete in a best-of-three series, Friday-Sunday, for the right to advance to the College World Series. Game times and television information can be viewed here.
Tennessee is playing for its third College World Series appearance in four years.
The Vols will host Evansville (38-24) in a best-of-three series. The winner between Tennessee and the Purple Aces will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Game No. 1 is slated for Friday at 3 p.m. EDT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The second contest is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. EDT, while an if necessary game No. 3 is slated for Sunday at 6 p.m. EDT.
Television information for all three games in the Knoxville Super Regional can be viewed here.
Below are photos of the Vols practicing at Lindsey Nelson Stadium ahead of hosting Evansville in the NCAA Tournament.
Ahead of the Knoxville Super Regional, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello met with media. He discussed the status of sophomore pitcher AJ Russell against Evansville.
“No, nothing specific as far as what the next step will be for him, but he’ll be unavailable,” Vitello said. “It’s kind of coach Russell or coach AJ for now.
“I don’t mean make light of health or anything like that. I mean he’s still involved in practice and things like that right now, but he’s kind of assumed a role in the dugout where he takes on some other duties, to me I enjoy being around him. So for now that’s his task and we’ll see where we get but more than likely would be shut down for the year.”
Seventh-year Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello met with media on Wednesday. He discussed if the Purple Aces reminded him of any SEC team the Vols faced this season.
“A little bit of Kentucky with the well balanced offense,” Vitello said. “They play with a real fun style. I think that’s kind of one thing that gets lost in the mix.
“I think the one thing in my conversations yesterday, I kept reminding people is their style of play is fun. They’re very confident, they get after it and play hard, so on top of the talent that’s there, they got a style of play too that makes them maybe better than the parts.”
Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire
Evansville advanced to super regional play after winning the Greenville Regional, hosted by East Carolina.
“I’ve known Wes or coach Carroll for a long time,” Vitello said of Evansville’s head coach. “He’s always been real good at kind of running around, beating the bushes, and finding guys that he knows are going to develop into something even better than they already are.
“That’s kind of been the makeup of that team is there’s a lot of guys who have developed and become even better than they are and all together. It makes for a really good team.”
NCAA announces game dates, times and TV information for the Knoxville Super Regional between Tennessee and Evansville baseball.
The NCAA Tournament Knoxville Super Regional will be contested at Lindsey Nelson Stadium between No. 1 national seed Tennessee and Evansville.
Game dates, first pitch times and television information for the best-of-three series were announced on Tuesday.
Game No. 1 between the Vols and Purple Aces will take place on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT and will be televised by ESPN2. Game No. 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. EDT (ESPN2), while an if necessary game will be held Sunday at 6 p.m. EDT (ESPNU).
The Purple Aces advance to face Tennessee baseball in the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Super Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
No. 4 seed Evansville (38-24) won game No. 7 of the NCAA Tournament Greenville Regional on Monday.
The Purple Aces defeated No. 16 national and No. 1 Greenville Regional seed East Carolina (46-17), 6-5, at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.
Evansville advances to face No. 1 national seed Tennessee in the Knoxville Super Regional. The Purple Aces will make their first super regional appearance in school history.
The Vols clinched a Knoxville Regional title on Sunday after defeating No. 2 seed Southern Miss, 12-3, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Game dates and times will be announced later for the Knoxville Super Regional. NCAA Super Regionals will be contested June 7-9 or June 8-10.
The College World Series will be contested June 14-24 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Tennessee advanced to the College World Series in 2021 and 2023 under head coach Tony Vitello.
No. 1 Kentucky was stunned on its home floor by Evansville on Tuesday.
For the first time in program history, Evansville toppled a AP-ranked team on the road. That team happened to be the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats, a favorite to win the national championship at the end of the season.
Last season, the Purple Aces won just 11 games, and were picked to finish eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference this year. Evansville didn’t catch fire from the floor – the Purple Aces shot 38 percent from the field – or win on a fluke buzzer-beater, they outworked the top-ranked team in the nation and played excellent defense at Rupp Arena to pull off a historic upset. For Kentucky, it was the first time the Wildcats had ever lost at home as a No. 1 team to a non-conference opponent, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
College basketball fans roasted Kentucky online, and Indiana fans at Assembly Hall chanted “Evansville” during the Hoosiers’ blowout win on Tuesday.
