Tag: SEC Tournament

Tony Vitello recaps Vols’ win versus Texas A&M

Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello recaps the Vols’ win versus Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11) eliminated No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12), 7-4, on Thursday in the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

Seventh-year Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello met with media after the contest.

“This tournament is so great for all the teams in our league,” Vitello said. “I think the league helps prepare you, but the tournament does, too, because you get used to media coverage, fans, chaos, all kinds of different things.

“I thought we handled it a lot better yesterday. It’s not like we did anything wrong, but everything seemed to be a little more in sync. Great attitude from our guys even though it was definitely not a perfect game. Both teams made mistakes. I haven’t looked at it close enough to know who made one more than the other, but I think because Stam (Chris Stamos) and (AJ) Causey threw the ball so well, we were able to take advantage of KT’s (Kavares Tears) stuff at the plate, as well as the rest of the team. It’s nice to be able to play tomorrow because we kind of had a plan A for the pitching. Obviously, AJ Russell was a hot topic yesterday, kind of how we wanted to handle Cause. Kirby (Connell) had to put in a little extra work, but to this point, it looks like we’ll be able to check some of the boxes we wanted to. Whether we’re able to win the thing or not, we’ve accomplished a lot to this point on top of what we did this season.”

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Photos of Tennessee’s win against Texas A&M in SEC Tournament

A look at photos of Tennessee baseball’s win versus Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11) advanced in the SEC Tournament on Thursday. The Vols defeated No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12), 7-4, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

Thursday’s contest was an elimination game.

“It’s nice to be able to play tomorrow because we kind of had a plan A for the pitching,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. “Obviously, AJ Russell was a hot topic yesterday, kind of how we wanted to handle Cause (AJ Causey). Kirby (Connell) had to put in a little extra work, but to this point, it looks like we’ll be able to check some of the boxes we wanted to.

“Whether we’re able to win the thing or not, we’ve accomplished a lot to this point on top of what we did this season.”

Tennessee will next play Mississippi State on Friday. First pitch between the Vols and Bulldogs is slated for 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be televised by SEC Network.

READ: One interesting fact about every 2024 Tennessee baseball player

Below are photos of Tennessee’s win against Texas A&M on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

How to watch Tennessee-Mississippi State baseball game

How to watch information for the Tennessee-Mississippi State baseball game in the SEC Tournament on Friday.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (47-11) will play No. 5 seed Mississippi State (38-20) on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The matchup is an elimination game at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

First pitch between the Vols and Bulldogs is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. EDT and will be televised by SEC Network. The winner will play No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (38-20) on Saturday.

Live stream on Fubo TV

Vanderbilt is 3-0 in SEC Tournament play, while the Vols are 1-1 and Mississippi State is 2-1.

Mississippi State leads the all time series against Tennessee, 60-37, dating to May 4, 1917. The Vols have won seven consecutive games in the series.

READ: One interesting fact about every 2024 Tennessee baseball player

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Tennessee eliminates Texas A&M in SEC Tournament

Tennessee baseball eliminates Texas A&M in the 2024 SEC Tournament.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11) eliminated No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12), 7-4, on Thursday in the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

Chris Stamos started for Tennessee and pitched 3.1 innings. He recorded three strikeouts, while allowing one hit, one walk and one earned run. Stamos totaled 53 pitches, including 34 strikes, against 12 batters.

AJ Causey (11-3) pitched four innings in relief for the Vols. He recorded seven strikeouts, while allowing five hits, one walk and one earned run.

Tennessee totaled 10 hits in the elimination game versus the Aggies. Kavares Tears hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning, while Cal Stark hit a solo home run in the eighth inning for the Vols.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Ryan Waldschmidt homers twice to lead Kentucky to an SEC Tournament win

Kentucky baseball beats the Arkansas Razorbacks 9 – 6 in the SEC Tournament.

After beginning the SEC Tournament with a blowout loss to the LSU Tigers, the Kentucky baseball team attempted to bounce back on Thursday against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Wildcats got going early with two unearned runs in the first inning. Ryan Nicholson hit a solo homerun in the fourth inning, then Ryan Waldschmidt hit one in the fifth. Kentucky was up 6 – 0 after five.

Related: Kentucky baseball ranked number two in coaches poll

Arkansas scored four in the sixth to make it close, but Waldschmidt hit his second homer of the game to double the lead to four. The Razorbacks would score a couple of late runs, but Kentucky would take it by a score of 9 – 6.

Waldschmidt was the star of the day, going 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs. Emilien Pitre and Devin Burkes each had two hits. Nick Lopez drove in two. Trey Pooser was terrific on the mound, going five innings and giving up just three hits and no runs.

Kentucky stays alive in the SEC Tournament with the win, and will play either South Carolina or LSU on Friday at 4:00 PM ET.

Tennessee announces starting pitcher for Texas A&M game

Tennessee baseball announces starting pitcher for the Texas A&M game on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

Christ Stamos will make his seventh start for Tennessee (46-11) on Thursday during the 2024 season. No. 1 seed Tennessee announced Stamos will start against No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12) in the SEC Tournament.

First pitch between the Vols and Aggies is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

SEC Network will televise the matchup.

Stamos (3-0) recorded 29 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA for Tennessee in 2024.

He transferred to the Vols from California ahead of the 2024 campaign. Stamos appeared in 36 games, including five starts, at California from 2022-23. He recorded 46 strikeouts and a 6.75 ERA.

Stamos transferred to California from Principia College. He played at Principia College from 2019-20.

Vols’ updated NCAA regional projection after Vanderbilt loss

A look at Tennessee baseball’s updated NCAA Tournament regional projection after losing to Vanderbilt.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11) will return to action on Thursday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in an elimination game.

The Vols will play No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12) at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. EDT and will be televised by SEC Network.

Following Tennessee’s SEC Tournament opening game loss to Vanderbilt on Wednesday, Baseball America released updated NCAA Tournament regional projections.

The Vols are projected as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and to host UConn, Indiana and Wright State in the Knoxville Regional. The winner of the Knoxville Regional is projected to play the winner of the Santa Barbara Regional, hosted by UC Santa Barbara. Oregon State, LSU and Grand Canyon are also projected to play in the Santa Barbara Regional.

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

How to watch Tennessee-Texas A&M baseball game

How to watch the Tennessee-Texas A&M baseball game on Thursday in the SEC Tournament.

No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11) will play No. 4 seed Texas A&M (44-12) on Thursday in an elimination game in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

First pitch between the Vols and Aggies is slated for 2 p.m. EDT at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. SEC Network will televise the matchup.

Live stream on Fubo TV

Tennessee lost to Vanderbilt, 13-4, to open SEC Tournament play on Wednesday, while Mississippi State defeated Texas A&M, 5-3.

Texas A&M leads the all time series against Tennessee, 11-9. The Vols and Aggies did not play each other during the 2024 regular-season.

The last meeting between the two schools took place in last year’s SEC Tournament. Texas A&M defeated the Vols, 3-0, on May 23, 2023.

READ: One interesting fact about every 2024 Tennessee baseball player

Photo by Dan Harralson, Vols Wire

Vanderbilt defeats Vols in SEC Tournament

Tennessee baseball opens the SEC Tournament with a loss to Vanderbilt.

No. 8 seed Vanderbilt (37-20) defeated No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-11), 13-4, on Wednesday in the second-round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.

Nate Snead (8-2) started for Tennessee and pitched 2.2 innings. He recorded two strikeouts and 39 pitches (25 strikes) against 13 batters.

Seven players pitched in relief for the Vols.

Tennessee totaled seven hits against Vanderbilt, including a home run by Reese Chapman. Chapman led the Vols in RBIs with three.

Alan Espinal went 2-for-5 for Vanderbilt. He recorded two home runs, five RBIs and two runs.

25 players appeared in the game for Tennessee against Vanderbilt.

PHOTOS: Tony Vitello through the years

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LSU’s pitching dominant so far at 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament

The pitching has been a big reason behind LSU’s success so far in Hoover.

Across the first two days of action at the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament, arguably no team has impressed more than the LSU Tigers.

Despite coming to Hoover as the SEC’s No. 11 seed, the defending national champions have looked just as dominant so far as they were down the stretch a year ago, defeating both Georgia and Kentucky by final scores of 9-1 and 11-0, respectively.

Now yes, the offense has certainly been there for the Tigers so far in Hoover, and rightfully deserves its’ credit. However, what might be the difference for LSU so far is their pitching, which has been dominant against a pair of deep lineups in Georgia and Kentucky.

On Tuesday in a single-elimination game, LSU sent left-hander Gage Jump to the mound against Georgia with the southpaw going on to post one of his most impressive outings of the season, allowing only one earned run across seven innings with four hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts. Jump was then relieved by Griffin Herring, who continued that success with two scoreless innings of his own to close out the win.

Wednesday, the Tigers would send Luke Holman to the mound against a red-hot Kentucky team, with the right-hander allowing no earned runs over six innings with no hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. LSU would be solid in relief once again as well, as Gavin Guidry pitched two scoreless innings to close it out.

Across their two games, LSU’s pitching staff holds a combined line of only one earned run allowed across 17 innings, along with seven hits, six walks, and 18 strikeouts.

Can the Tigers continue this success Thursday against a South Carolina team that is also playing well in Hoover?