Baseball Preview: #4 Vols Host Belmont for Regular-Season Home Finale

Vols OF Jordan Beck / Credit: UT Athletics

Baseball Preview: #4 Vols Host Belmont for Regular-Season Home Finale

Vols OF Jordan Beck / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 4 Tennessee concludes its regular-season home slate with an in-state matchup against Belmont on Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.

The Vols are looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss in Sunday’s rubber game against No. 1 Arkansas, resulting in just their second series loss of the year.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Relying on the expertise of public health authorities, the state of Tennessee, appropriate university and government agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are implementing a number of new initiatives at Tennessee Baseball gamedays this spring. The well-being of our student-athletes, fans and staff are our top priorities and guide our decisions. Exposure to COVID-19 is an inherent risk in any public location where people are present; we cannot guarantee you will not be exposed during your visit.

The Southeastern Conference in August released several conference-wide fan health and safety guidelines for all member institutions this fall. The Tennessee-specific measures outlined on this page are in line with, and in addition to, the SEC’s guidelines.

Parking
Baseball parking is located primarily in Lots GF1, G16, and C1.

Additional on-street parking is located in C10 along Todd Helton Dr. and Chamique Holdsclaw Dr. and along West Volunteer Blvd.

Handicap parking is located in marked handicap spaces on Pat Head Summitt St. and in the G16 Volunteer Blvd. garage.  The 2021 parking map can be seen HERE (PDF).

For more information and gameday info, visit the Tennessee Baseball Gameday Information page by clicking HERE.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets for Tuesday’s regular-season home finale against Belmont may be purchased by calling the Tennessee Athletic ticket office at 865-656-1200 or online at AllVols.com.

In order to keep Lindsey Nelson Stadium as full as possible, we are encouraging season ticket holders who are unable to use their tickets for a game(s) to either transfer your tickets to someone else (Instructions HERE), sell them on VividSeats (Information available at UTSports.com/cantmakethegame) or participate in our new Seats for Student program (Instructions HERE).

BROADCAST INFO

Tuesday’s contest will be streamed live on WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app.

Fans can also listen to the official Vol Network radio call on Sports Radio WNML (FM 99.1 / AM 990), as well as UTSports.com and the UT Gameday app. John Wilkerson and Vince Ferrara will call the action.

PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS

RHP Mark McLaughlin (2-0) vs. RHP Will Jenkins (1-0)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Tennessee leads, 11-4
In Knoxville: Tennessee leads, 10-4
In Nashville: Tennessee leads, 1-0
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: W, 6-2 (April 2, 2019)

Tennessee has won six straight meetings against Belmont entering Tuesday’s game. The Vols are 2-0 against the Bruins under Tony Vitello with wins in 2018 and 2019.

NOTABLE

Regular-Season Home Finale
Tuesday will be the final regular-season home game for the Vols this season. Tennessee is 25-9 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this season, including a 16-3 record against non-conference foes.

Walk-Off Wins
Tennessee has had a flair for the dramatic this season with sixth walk-off wins, including three walk-off home runs after last Saturday’s 8-7 win over No. 1 Arkansas. Max Ferguson hit a three-run homer with UT trailing 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Vols their third victory over a top-ranked opponent under Vitello.

52 and Counting…
Senior shortstop Liam Spence has been one of the toughest outs in all of college baseball this season. The Geelong, Australia, native has reached base in 52 consecutive games played dating back to last season and has gotten on base in all 49 games he’s played in this year. His 52 games streak is the second longest active streak in college baseball behind East Carolina’s Connor Norby (54 games). His 49-game on-base streak for just this season is the longest in the nation.

Non-Conference Dominance
The Vols enter Tuesday’s game with a 21-4 record in non-conference play this season with a 10-2 mark in midweek games. Since the start of the 2019 season, UT is 62-11 against non-conference opposition. They are also an impressive 38-7 in midweek games since Vitello took over as head coach in 2018.

OPPONENT SCOUT

Belmont Bruins

  • 2021 Record: 20-28 (12-15 OVC)
  • Rankings: Not Ranked
  • 2019 Postseason: N/A
  •  Head Coach: Dave Jarvis (24th season) // Has led the program since its inaugural Division I season in 1998.
  • Predicted Preseason OVC Finish: First
  • Preseason All-OVC Selections:
    • Joshua South (1st Team – SP)
    • Kyle Brennan (1st Team – RP)
  • Stat Leaders:
    • Batting Avg: Logan Jarvis (.339)
    • Runs: John Behrends (44)
    • Hits: John Behrends (60)
    • Home Runs: John Behrends (8)
    • RBI: Logan Jarvis (49)
    • Stolen Bases: John Behrends/Guy Lipscomb (12)
    • Wins: Andy Bean (5-2)
    • ERA (min. 15.0 IP): Kyle Brennan (3.19)
    • Innings Pitched: Joshua South (71.1)
    • Strikeouts: Joshua South (57)

GAME PROMOTIONS

Upcoming promotions for all Tennessee athletics home events can be found on the UT Fan Experience page by clicking HERE.

Fans are encouraged to download the My All App for their phones and devices this season. The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store and will allow fans to participate in in-game trivia, the custom filter selfie cam and more throughout the year.

ON DECK

The Vols cap the regular season with a trip to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks this Thursday-Saturday. Games one and two will be streamed on SEC Network+ while Saturday’s series finale will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

-UT Athletics

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