The Tennessee baseball Volunteers are entering SEC play with a record of 17-1. After a loss to Oklahoma in their second game of the season the Vols have rattled off 16 wins in a row. Their opponent for the weekend Alabama(15-2) most recently lost on the road at Southern Mississippi, but the Crimson Tide still look the part of an SEC contender. This is the real start of the college baseball season. The inferior competition before conference play is more or less spring training for SEC teams, but now the real fun begins. Who will have the edge in Tuscaloosa this weekend? What phase of the game will prove to be the difference? Let’s take a look.

Pitching

The main concern for a lot of Tennessee fans thus far has been pitching. However, I don’t share these concerns. Tennessee is blessed to have Frank Anderson leading their pitching staff, and Tony Vitello bringing in elite prospects left and right. Furthermore, to this point in the season Tennessee ranks 5th in the country in team ERA, and 6th in the country in team WHIP. I believe that the coaches will have this pitching staff among the SEC’s best heading into the postseason. Alabama’s pitching staff is pretty damn good as well. Their staff comes into the weekend with the 16th-best team ERA and the 7th-best team WHIP. Their one downfall is when they have to go to their bullpen the production drops off quickly. Even though Alabama will be pitching in their own ballpark I’ll give the slightest of edges to Tennessee in the pitching department.

Hitting

This series has the potential to be an absolute slugfest. Tennessee and Alabama have been among college baseball’s best when it comes to scoring runs to this point in the season. Tennessee comes into this weekend having scored the 4th most runs in the country and Alabama has scored the 13th most runs in the country. Tennessee ranks 2nd in home runs while Alabama ranks 13th in home runs. Tennessee has a team average that ranks 11th in the country while Alabama’s team average comes in at 9th. The point is that this weekend could be comically high-scoring, and it might be a case of one error or missed cutoff man being the difference between a 2-run inning or a 10-run inning. These teams are very similar when it comes to hitting, but since Alabama is playing at home in front of thousands of screaming gumps I’ll have to give the edge in this department to Alabama.

What will be the deciding factor?

I’ve already said both of these teams can light up the scoreboard, but what is going to push the series winner over the top? In my opinion, Tennessee’s depth will be what gives them a series win. Tennessee has more capable arms to throw at Alabama. Tennessee has a roster that can execute any type of offensive approach that Tony Vitello wants to emphasize. I just think that Alabama, while very impressive thus far, is not on the same level as Tennessee at this point.

Players to watch

Alabama - Gage Miller, Ben Hess

Tennessee - Drew Beam, Billy Amick

Prediction

Tennessee drops the first game, but a Drew Beam masterclass on Saturday and Tennessee’s depth on Sunday earns the Vols a series win.