MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For the first time in 27 years, Tennessee baseball won the conference championship with a final of 8-5 over Florida.
However, that’s not the only first.
Friday night, Tennessee baseball enters the NCAA tournament as the number one seed, a first-ever in program history.
“We’ve kind of checked the preparation boxes, and at the same time we’ve kind-of kept our guys to where they should feel as fresh as you can feel in the month of June,” said head coach Tony Vitello.
As the Vols fight to continue their road back to Omaha, Nebraska, they open the NCAA tournament at home against Alabama State.
Despite the Hornets coming in as the fourth seed, the Vols aren’t taking this match-up lightly.
“No matter who they’re playing, they are going to bring a fight. We saw that last year in our region, so we’re not going to look over anyone. We’re going to go out and try to play our game,” said outfielder Evan Russell.
Sophomore Blade Tidwel is expected to start on the mound.
“I like our chances with Blade Tidwell on the mound, and as long as we have some good quality of bats, we should be in good shape,” said Russell.
Sitting at 53 wins and only 7 losses this season, Tennessee has been ranked the number one team in the country for the last two months.
Starting Friday, the Vols are looking to capitalize on the success of past seasons, and take it a step further.
“I think everyone would not be satisfied with how the year went if we don’t take care of business this week. We have a lot of goals in mind, but our main goal is to win this Friday,” Russell explained.