The No. 7 Tennessee Vols begin their SEC campaign this weekend with a series against South Carolina at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols (16-1) picked up a midweek win over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday, defeating the Colonels 7-1 behind Trey Lipscomb’s two home runs and Christian Moore’s one. The Vols have won their last eight games after losing to Texas two weeks ago.
Contrary to the Vols, South Carolina has had a shaky start to the season, going 10-6 through its first few weeks of play. The Gamecocks had an impressive series win over No. 1 Texas last weekend, winning two of three games.
The first of the three games between the Vols and Gamecocks will be played Friday night at 6:30 p.m. EST at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Through 17 games, the Vols have been able to figure out lineups, pitching and answer start to answer some questions about the team.
“I just think we’ve got the questions you want answered up until this point,” head coach Tony Vitello said. “You know if you win the National Championship maybe you don’t have any questions, but if you lose the National Championship you think ‘maybe we should’ve used this guy’ or ‘maybe we wore this guy down.’”
“There’s always questions as a coaching staff you’re looking to have resolved and I think going into this weekend at this point we kind of know who our starters are.”
Every game, it seems like the Vols have a new player emerge as a threat. Most recently it has been Moore, who is hitting at a .423 clip and has picked up six home runs. Moore has started off the season coming out of the dugout as a pinch hitter, but Vitello believes his versatility could earn him a regular spot in the lineup.
“We’ll kind of play our hand with situations,” Vitello said. “He’s getting more familiar with left field, which is nice, he’s a high school shortstop that is more that capable at second base. Pinch hitting too he’s a weapon. Bottom line is we just want to keep using him in as many situations as possible.”
Along with newly found weapons, the Vols have figured out their usual weapons as well.
The leader of them so far has been Lipscomb. The junior infielder is hitting at a .413 mark and has recorded eight home runs and 34 RBIs in his 49 at bats.
“He’s really progressed from what most freshmen come in as ‘I got to bide my time, don’t step on anyone’s toes’ to – he’s always had good character but now he’s got strong character on the field and I think it permeates to his teammates as well,” Vitello said. “Obviously, it helps his performance but it also helps other guys in leadership form.”
A big part of Lipscomb’s game has been developing a consistent routine in games and in practice.
“When I come here in the cages, I do my same routine I do every day,” Lipscomb said. “Then I go out on the field and I have that confidence in the box. So it’s pretty cool to see that pay off.”
