Overview
- Tennessee plays East Carolina at noon Friday in Chapel Hill with the game televised on ESPNU and streaming on the ESPN app and fubo, and senior Evan Blanco is the Vols’ scheduled starter while ECU will counter with Ryan Towers.
- The Vols enter the regional as a No. 2 seed under first-year coach Josh Elander after Tony Vitello left for the San Francisco Giants, a role that shifts Tennessee from recent host to underdog on the road.
- Tennessee’s lineup led the team to 111 home runs this season but also produced high strikeout totals and a low on-base profile that leaves scoring heavily tied to the long ball.
- On the mound Tennessee has an elite top arm in Tegan Kuhns, who recorded 100 strikeouts in 77 innings and is a top MLB prospect, but the staff carries a 4.71 team ERA and has allowed 84 homers, the most in the SEC.
- The Chapel Hill Regional ranks among the tournament’s strongest pods by RPI and DSR, so how Elander deploys his rotation and whether Tennessee can limit opponent contact will likely decide if the Volunteers advance to the super regionals.