The Official #1 Tennessee vs Notre Dame Super Regional Games Thread (Fri 6/10 6PM EST ESPN 2) ( Sat. 6/11 2PM EST ESPN ) (Sun. 6/12 1PM EST ESPN)

#904
#904
Tennessee baseball soared to No. 1 in late March when it won three consecutive games at Ole Miss. A week later, it validated its ranking by sweeping Vanderbilt in a three-game series in Nashville.

You dominate programs of that caliber on the road and you get everybody’s attention. But what Tennessee has accomplished at home is more relevant as the Vols take on Notre Dame in a super regional starting Friday at Lindsey-Nelson Stadium. The winner in the best-of-three series will advance to the College World Series.

Home field or home court always has mattered in sports. Oddsmakers can vouch for that.

But home games are becoming more and more favorable for coach Tony Vitello's Vols.

They are 37-3 at home in what has been a historical season. Of course, their overall 56-7 record suggests they could win anywhere, unless you hand them wooden bats for a midweek game at Smokies Stadium.

UT’s home advantage is becoming more apparent in other sports, too. The men’s basketball team went 16-0 at Thompson-Boling Arena this past season. The Lady Vols were 16-2 at home.






Combine that with the baseball team and you have a combined record of 69-5 record and a .932 winning percentage.

You don’t win games strictly because of a loud, passionate fan base. If that were the case, the Vols wouldn’t have lost to Ole Miss in football in 2021 at Neyland Stadium.

However, fans can make a difference – in games and recruiting.

Tennessee’s football recruiting is proof of that. The Vols haven’t won more than nine games since 2007. They also have had more losing seasons than winning ones in the same 14-year stretch. But you couldn’t tell that by the way they have been recruiting in the 2023 cycle.


The Vols rank ninth nationally in the 247Sports Composite based on their nine commitments, who include Nico Iamaleava, the third-ranked quarterback in the class.

UT’s sports collective undoubtedly has been a factor in its enhanced recruiting. The collective serves as a liaison between recruits and schools in negotiating NIL deals, which allow players to make money off their name, image and likeness.


When the Vols received a commitment from a five-star quarterback on the West Coast, that indicated frugality wasn't the goal of their more affluent boosters.

More than football players are capitalizing on NIL. So is Tennessee baseball. UT fans can contribute to the Vols on the website FriendsofbaseVols.com. Local businessman Craig Jenkins, who is a member of the group' executive advisory board, said more than $20,000 has been raised.

That hasn't come from mega-donors, but fans who have contributed $5, $10 and $20.

As much as NIL money might mean in recruiting, fan support matters, too. How could a recruit not be impressed by the atmosphere at Lindsey Nelson Stadium? That was never more evident than last weekend before a loud sellout crowd in the Knoxville Regional.

You could experience similar fan exuberance at regionals in Stillwater, Oklahoma; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Austin, Texas; Greenville, North Carolina.

You didn't see that at Stanford, where the No. 2 overall seed Cardinal edged Texas State to reach a super regional. The crowd might as well have gathered for a tea party. I've heard more raucous fans during a pro golfer's backswing.

Tennessee fans could turn up the volume to new heights Friday with their team on the brink of the CWS. If so, players likely won't be the only ones to notice.

So might recruits.

No tea party tonight....we want to see this....make the bleachers shake.

 
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#919
#919
Jax_Vol said:
Whatever happened to our pitcher who transferred in from Vanderbilt?

Is he injured, or just unable to break into the top-10 arms?
Click to expand...
We’re happy to have Ethan pitching for the Forest City Owls now. In Saturday’s outing, he and a pitcher we have from UNC allowed only five hits against the best team in our league.
 
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#924
#924
@1RBFjr said:
We’re happy to have Ethan pitching for the Forest City Owls now. In Saturday’s outing, he and a pitcher we have from UNC allowed only five hits against the best team in our league.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the tip on this, that means kids not on the travel roster are headed out. Time for me to get cracking!
 
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