No. 1 overall seed Tennessee (50-11) will open play in the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Regional on Friday.
The Vols will host North Kentucky (35-22) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and will be televised by SEC Network.
Seventh-year Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello met with media on Wednesday and previewed the contest against Northern Kentucky.
“Scrappy is a word that comes up often,” Vitello said of Northern Kentucky. “I think we have the ability to do that, too, but by nature that’s been who they are. They’re very well coached, and it’s easy if you hear their coach speak, he’s very well spoken since they’ve been there. They’re certainly no stranger to SEC opponents or SEC caliber opponents you. They’ve played Kentucky and they’ve gone in and beaten Mississippi State. They beat Missouri, then on top of that, to win their league they got to beat a team like Wright State, which, obviously, everyone standing here, not just me, has a ton of respect for that program.
“On offense, very aggressive, not just at the plate, but on the bases. Then we’ll see a right-handed pitcher (Tanner) Gillis that had an outstanding year. For him, and he’s older, he’s been there done that, so with that experience I’m sure he knows what to expect and how to handle it with what comes with a regional.”
READ: 2024 NCAA Tournament Knoxville Regional baseball schedule, game times
