After seven games away from Knoxville, the baseball team will be returning to Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend, as they prepare for a three-game home opening series against the Norfolk State Spartans.
The Vols are off to a 6-1 start and will be coming off a long two-week road trip. In the first week of competition, the Vols took two out of three in Memphis against the Tigers.
Then, the Vols went to the West Coast to participate in the Tony Gwynn Classic. The team went undefeated in the tournament but had a second-place finish due to a smaller run differential than the co-host team, the University of San Diego.
Freshmen Justin Ammons and Pete Derkay both made the all-tournament team with Ammons becoming the first Vol since 2009 to receive SEC Freshman of the Week. Ammons hit .471 with a team-leading five doubles over the four games in California.
With the wins in California, the Vols are coming off a five-game winning streak and are now looking for the team’s best start since a 31-win campaign in 2014.
In each of the five wins, the team has scored eight or more runs. The offense has been strong to this point, but the strength of this team may end up being pitching.
The pitching staff has a lot of depth this season with much of it yet to be released. Right now, Hunter Martin, Will Neely and Zach Warren will get the nods this weekend, but there are opinions galore. Garrett Stallings and Zach Linginfelter have proven to head coach Dave Serrano that they’re SEC caliber starting pitchers.
Not to mention, the team will also receive a boost once Kyle Serrano and Jacob Westphal return.
Despite the depth, the pitching staff hasn’t gotten off to the best start, giving up 3.98 runs per game. However, this weekend could be encouraging for the pitching staff given that their opponent Norfolk State only averages 4.25 runs per game.
“I don’t think we have pitched like we can pitch yet,” Dave Serrano said. “The pitching is what’s going to carry us throughout this whole year.”
On the other hand, things have started to unravel for the Spartans. After starting the season with three consecutive wins, Norfolk State has sputtered to a five-game losing streak.
This will be the first time as well that fans get to see the team play in Lindsey-Nelson since the stadium received some upgrades. The upgrades include a new scoreboard, new fencing and new MVP seats.
It will also be interesting to see how the young team responds to playing at home. With 17 newcomers on the team this year, some youngsters may get the chance to play a prominent role in this weekend’s series.
“I want to see how we adapt to playing in our own stadium now,” Dave Serrano said. “In years past, as a coach, when you go on the road, your team seems to bond a little more because it’s kind of you against the world to some extent.”
This will be the first time ever that Tennessee or Dave Serrano has ever played against Norfolk State. Norfolk State will be looking to regain its 2016 form, a season that saw them finish 29-21 and win their second consecutive MEAC Northern Division regular-season title.
The games will be Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Hunter Martin (2-0, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound Friday and will be followed by Zach Warren (0-1, 6.14 ERA) and Will Neely (1-0, 5.40 ERA), respectively.
