Tied at second place in the SEC, No. 8 Tennessee (37-8, 12-6 SEC) and No. 10 Kentucky (39-9, 12-6) will battle for conference supremacy this weekend at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Ky.
The series could prove to be decisive in the seeding for the SEC tournament, which is now less than two weeks away with only three conference games remaining after this weekend.
“It’s a matter of postseason and where we want to be at is the World Series, and we definitely want to take it,” senior Melissa Davin said. “We’ve got to use every game to help us prepare for the postseason.”
The last matchup between the two teams was last season in a non-conference game which the Lady Vols won 6-0.
Tennessee owns the advantage in the all-time series, 35-12, with a 17-6 record in Lexington.
The Wildcats, however, come into the series hot as winners of 10 of their past 11 games.
Pitching duo Lauren Cumbess and Kelsey Nunley each own a sub-2.00 ERA and have combined for a 30-4 record this season.
Cumbess is also one of four Wildcats hitting better than .300 on the season along with top hitter senior Emily Gaines, who is batting .393.
“They’re a well coached team,” co-head coach Ralph Weekly said. “They have a lot of good players. We have a lot of good players. I think it’s a pretty evenly-matched contest.
“I think both teams are capable of coming out on top, so we’re going to have to play our best game to be successful up in Lexington.”
Conversely, the Lady Vols are 4-5 in their last nine conference games and have been inconsistent at the plate against opposing pitchers.
Last weekend, Tennessee went 1-2 against Mississippi State including a shutout loss in Friday’s game. The next day, UT slammed five home runs in the first two innings.
Batting, however, has not been the only area of inconsistency for the Lady Vols.
UT has also struggled in the circle recently after allowing 11 runs in the final game against Mississippi State.
Weekly said the ups and downs of the team this season might be explained by the overall strength of the SEC this season.
“There’s eight (other SEC teams) in one of top 25 polls,” Weekly said. “We’re looking at Florida, a team that we beat three times, that is ahead of us now. The polls are jumping back and forth. I think it could be the best year for the SEC from top to bottom.”
The nine ranked SEC teams is four higher than any other conference in the nation.
The Lady Vols have lost their previous three opening games against SEC opponents, but Davin said they know they cannot afford to continue that trend this Friday.
“I know that we’re hungry,” Davin said after Wendesday’s practice. “We worked hard today. We’re wanting to come out ready to attack. We struggled the past couple Friday nights, and we want to make sure we go out strong on the first night.”
