Tennessee baseball is 1 win away from yet another trip to the College World Series after defeating Evansville 11-6 Friday afternoon in Game 1.
The Vols are the nation s top team and have certainly looked like it as of late. Tennessee recently won the SEC Tournament and blitzed their way through the Knoxville regional to get to Game 2 in the Supers against Evansville.
The Purple Aces journey to Knoxville was far from routine. Evansville was the 4-seed out of the Greenville Regional and downed East Carolina and others to advance to their first Super Regional appearance in school history.
Keep reading for a prediction for Game 2, as well as the odds and best bets for Saturday s tilt.
No. 1 Tennessee vs. Evansville Prediction (June 8)
Tennessee is Tennessee. Tony Vitello s program is stacked from top to bottom and currently has 6 players in double digits for home runs so far this season with No. 7 just one away. On top of that, Tennessee s 3.80 team ERA is the 3rd best in the nation and the best among power programs.
Pick your poison with these Vols from the batter s box. Hunter Ensley, Billy Amick, Blake Burke are playing at a different level. Christian Moore launched home run No. 30 in Game 1 against the Aces. Few teams this season have been able to tame these Vols, and Evansville has less equipment than many who have tried and failed.
Give Evansville their flowers, though. The Aces had things knotted up at 5 at the midway point of Friday s game, and Cal McGinnis was one of the game s top players. They have top 15 batting numbers that will always be a threat, even against a top 3 pitching team in the country with a raucous crowd in their ears.
Evansville coach Wes Carroll: The stage here is different (from East Carolina). The crowd is suffocating. Our guys weren t as loose as I wanted them to be.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247)
But as well as this Evansville team can hit the ball, Tennessee is just far too much to handle. Not to mention Evansville threw their best arm Friday looking to gain an early advantage over Goliath. It s been a fantastic run for the Aces, but I can t imagine there will be much drama in Game 2.
Tennessee vs. Evansville Odds
