BSB PREVIEW: #1 Vols Set for Super Regional Showdown Against Evansville - University of Tennessee Athletics (2024)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. –Top-ranked Tennessee's Road to Omaha continues this weekend with the NCAA Knoxville Super Regional against No. 16 Evansville at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The No. 1 national seed Volunteers enter the weekend after sweeping through the Knoxville Regional with a 3-0 record, posting wins over Northern Kentucky (9-3), Indiana (12-6) and No. 22 Southern Miss (12-3) to claim their fourth consecutive regional championship.

Evansville comes to Knoxville after winning the Greenville Regional as the No. 4 seed, defeating the No. 16 national seed East Carolina twice while doing so. The Purple Aces are just the ninth No. 4 regional seed to advance to a super regional.

NCAA SUPER REGIONAL CENTRAL PAGE

For the most up-to-date scores, links, team info and other gameday information such as parking and tickets, visiting the NCAA Knoxville Super Regional Central Page and the Tennessee Baseball Gameday Information Page.

TICKET INFO

All Tennessee baseball season-ticket holders were awarded the opportunity to purchase postseason tickets for all games taking place at home. Season tickets were sold out for the 2024 season.

A limited number of single-game standing room only tickets will be sold to the general public at the Lindsey Nelson Stadium ticket window starting 90 minutes prior to first pitch of each game. In addition, the first 300 students will receive free admission into Lindsey Nelson Stadium for all postseason contests.

PARKING INFORMATION & ROAD CLOSURES

In an effort to eliminate heavy traffic and promote a safe environment for all fans and staff attending this weekend's regional, road closures will be in effect for the duration of the tournament. Closures will go into effect on Friday, June 7, and can only be accessed with a valid NCAA parking pass.

Chamique Holdsclaw Dr. and Todd Helton Dr. will be closed from the intersection of Chamique Holdsclaw Dr. and Lake Loudon Blvd. to Todd Helton Dr. and the entrance of lot GF4. Pat Head Summitt Street will be closed to vehicle traffic between Fraternity Park Drive and Todd Helton Drive (Gate 11/the left-field gate near the porches will remain accessible). There will be a walking path on the east side of the street for those fans who are on the south side of the stadium and need to get to the Ticket Office and/or Main Gate.

Available baseball parking is located for free in lots G16, G3, G5-30, G10 and C22.Lots G3 and S23 are available but ONLY on Saturday & Sunday. Parking in campus lots C1 and GF1-4 are available to permit holders only.

Additional on-street parking is located along West Volunteer Blvd between the intersection of Volunteer Blvd and Todd Helton Dr. and Cumberland Avenue. We encourage all fans to take the temporary road closures on Pat Head Summitt St. into account upon their arrival to campus.

ADA accessible parking is located in marked handicap spaces on Pat Head Summitt St., at the Student Health Center, and in the G16 Volunteer Blvd Garage.

An updated parking map for this weekend can be seenHERE.

BROADCAST INFO

TV/Stream: ESPN2 (Fri. & Sat.) | ESPNU (Sun.)

Talent: Clay Matvick (PxP) & Gregg Olson (Analyst)

Radio: Vol Network (FM 99.1 / AM 990) | Tennessee Athletics App | UTSports.com | Varsity App

Talent: John Wilkerson & Vince Ferrara
The following Vol Network radio affiliates are slated to broadcast this weekend's Tennessee baseball games. Check your local listings as game coverage varies by station.

Bristol: WOPI (FM 98.1, AM 1490)
Camden: WRJB (FM 95.9)
Chattanooga:WFLI (FM 97.7, FM 100.3, AM 1070)
Cleveland:The Buzz (FM 101.3)
Cookeville:WKXD (FM 104.7)
Johnson City: WKPT (FM 94.3, AM 1590)
Kingsport: WKTP (FM 97.7, AM 1400)
Lawrenceburg:WWLX (FM 106.1, FM 93.1, AM 590)
Muscle Shoals, Ala.:WSBM (FM 97.9, AM 1340)
Nashville: WGFX (FM 104.5 The Zone)
Oneida:WBNT (FM 105.5)
Pulaski:WKSR (FM 107.7, FM 100.9, AM 1420)
Wartburg: WECO (FM 101.3)

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Prior Appearances: 13 (Most Recent: 2023)
Super Regional Appearances: 5 (Most Recent: 2023)

Super Regional Record: 9-3 (.750)

Knoxville Super Regional Record: 3-2 (.600)

College World Series Appearances: 6 (1951, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2021, 2023)

Tennessee will host its third super regional in program history this weekend when it welcomes Evansville to Rocky Top. This also marks the Vols' fourth consecutive super regional appearance, making them the only program in the country to advance to four straight supers.

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS

Game 1: LHP Chris Stamos (8 GS, 3-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. LHP Kenton Deverman (15 GS, 9-1, 3.81 ERA)
Game 2: RHP Drew Beam (16 GS, 8-2, 4.16 ERA) vs. LHP Donovan Schultz (16 GS, 6-2, 5.84 ERA)
Game 3 (If Necessary): TBD

NEED TO KNOW

• The Vols are just the third program in Division I history to earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament twice in a three-year span, joining Florida (2016 & 2018) and Florida State (2002 and 2003).
  • Tennessee also joins a small group of programs that have earned the No. 1 national seed multiple times, becoming just the seventh to do so since the tournament switched to its current format in 1999, joining Florida, Florida State, Miami, Oregon State, Texas and UCLA.
• Tennessee is set to play in their fourth consecutive NCAA Super Regional, the longest super regional streak in program history. The Vols are the only program to advance to four straight supers.
• UT is the only SEC program and one of just four teams nationally (Stanford, Texas & Virginia) to have appeared in the College World Series in two of the last three seasons (2021 & 2023). With a series win this weekend, the Vols would punch their ticket to their seventh CWS in program history.
• Just as it did the last time it earned the No. 1 national seed in 2022, Tennessee captured the SEC regular season and SEC Tournament crowns. The Vols shared the regular-season title with Kentucky after posting a 22-8 record in league play and went on to win their fifth tournament championship in program history by defeating LSU, 4-3, in last Sunday's championship game.
• Christian Moore is having one of the greatest single seasons in program history and was named a first-team All-SEC selection and one of 25 semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. The junior second baseman won the Triple Crown with his stats in league play, leading the SEC with a .429 batting average, 20 home runs and 41 RBIs in conference play while also leading the league with 57 hits and 123 total bases. Moore finished second in slugging percentage (.925) and fifth in runs scored (37).
  • Entering play this weekend, Moore leads the nation with 98 hits and ranks in the top-25 nationally in home runs (5th – 29), slugging percentage (22nd – .780) and total bases (2nd – 202).
• Tennessee has been the nation's most prolific home run hitting team since the start of the 2021 season, leading all NCAA Division I programs with 540 long balls during that span. In the previous decade before that (2010-2020), the Volunteers totaled just 376 home runs.
  • UT has homered in 57 of its 64 games this season with a single-season program record 159 total round trippers, which leads the nation.
  • The Vols 12 grand slams are tied for the second most in a single season in NCAA history (most in the BBCOR bat era) and the most ever by an SEC team. The NCAA single-season record is 14 by Arizona State in 2003 (68 games). Nine different players have hit a grand slam for the Vols this season.
• The Vols' bullpen has played a major role in the team's overall success this season, posting a 38-5 record while tying the UT single-season mark for saves with 18. UT's bullpen has a combined ERA of 3.40 while racking up 356 strikeouts compared to just 109 walks in 307.1 innings of work.
  • In the month of May, UT's bullpen has combined to post a 10-0 record with seven saves and a 2.37 ERA in 91.0 innings with 119 strikeouts and just 24 walks while holding opposing hitters to a .220 batting average.
  • During last weekend's NCAA regional, the bullpen earned wins in all three games and posted a 1.96 ERA in 18.1 innings pitched while holding opposing hitters to a .212 batting average.
• The Vols are 152-24 when playing at Lindsey Nelson Stadium since the start of the 2020 season. The Big Orange are 38-3 at home this year with six series sweeps, marking the program's fourth consecutive season with 30 or more home victories.
  • UT's 38 home victories this season are the most in the country entering play this weekend while their .927 winning percentage at home ranks third nationally.
• Tennessee's high-powered offense has been most dangerous in the third and sixth innings this season, combining to score 202 of its 586 total runs (34%) in those two frames alone.
  • The Vols 103 runs in the sixth are the most they've scored in any inning this year, closely followed by 99 runs scored in the third inning. UT has outscored its opponents 202-69 in those two innings this season.

ON DECK

The winner of this weekend's Knoxville Super Regional will punch its ticket to the 2024 NCAA Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.

The complete 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket can be found HERE.