After defeating Cincinnati 7-1 in their home opener, the Vols will be back on the road this weekend taking part in the 13th annual Keith LeClair Classic hosted by East Carolina in Greenville, North Carolina.
Tennessee opened the season in Chattanooga, Tenn. against Memphis before going out to Arizona to participate in the Grand Canyon Classic. The Vols played three games against Memphis and faced Saint Mary’s College, Central Michigan and Grand Canyon University in Arizona. Tennessee is currently 6-1 for the year after beating Cincinnati on Wednesday.
While Tennessee only has one loss on the field, a 13-8 defeat at the hands of the Memphis Tigers, it has suffered a potentially major loss off the field. Junior starting pitcher Kyle Serrano will most likely need season-ending elbow surgery, the UT Medical Staff said in a press release.
After the game Serrano’s father and head coach Dave Serrano said the team is potentially losing 70 to 80 innings and will need others to step up and perform in Kyle’s absence.
“Its life; it’s a part of life,” Dave Serrano said. “He has handled it extremely well. He’s disappointed for his team because he understands how special of a group this is, and he almost feels like he has let them down. As a father, I had to step forward and say you haven’t let anyone down.”
Kyle had been tabbed as the early season Saturday starter for the Vols but that role now falls to Zach Warren. Stepping into the rotation for the foreseeable future will be Hunter Martin.
Andy Cox, who has been the Friday starter to begin the season, will again start Friday against Maryland. The Terrapins had been predicted to win the Big 10 conference in the pre-season by D1Baseball.com but have stumbled early and come into the matchup with Tennessee with a 3-4 record. They most recently lost to Delaware 12-7. This will be the first time Tennessee and Maryland have met on the diamond.
Saturday will provide the Vols their first true test of the season as they face tournament host No.16 East Carolina. The Pirates are 6-2 on the year with a road series win over No. 4 Virginia. Last season the Pirates had a 40 win season and made their first postseason appearance since 2012. This will be the first meeting between the Pirates and Vols since 2001 when they met in the Kingston, North Carolina. Regional, which East Carolina won 6-3. ECU leads the all-time series 2-1.
When Tennessee plays Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, it will be the first time the two programs have met since 1980, when Southeastern Louisiana came to Knoxville and lost to the Vols 10-2. All-time the series is tied 1-1. Southeastern is coming off a win over No.27 Tulane 13-4 and finished last season 42-17 and won its first Southland regular-season title in program history.
“This weekend’s tournament, the Keith LeClair Classic now on paper is one of the best tournaments probably in the country for the preseason,” Dave Serrano said. “We’ll be challenged.”
Vincent Jackson, #40, catching a ball in the outfield.
