Preview: Tennessee vs Mississippi State in Fourth Round of SEC Tournament

The Tennessee Volunteers will face Mississippi State Friday afternoon in the fourth round of the SEC tournament for a spot in the final four.

May 23, 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers outfielder Kavares Tears (21) jogs the bases after a three-run home run against the Texas A&M Aggies during the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers will face Mississippi State Friday afternoon in the fourth round of the SEC tournament for a spot in the final four.

After a shaky start in the SEC tournament, Tennessee got back on track yesterday by defeating Texas A&M by a final score of 7-4. They now are set to face Mississippi State sometime Friday afternoon approximately 30 minutes after the Kentucky vs South Carolina game which starts at 3 PM.

The Bulldogs have had to scratch and claw their way through the SEC tournament as they defeated Ole Miss in round one, handed Texas A&M their first loss in round two, lost to Vanderbilt in round three and now face an elimnation game against Tennessee for a spot in the final four. The Volunteers on the other hand earned a first round by thanks to them being regular season champs, lost to Vanderbilt in the second round and then defeated Texas A&M.

After a tough performance at the plate against Vanderbilt, Tennessee's offense found its groove against Texas A&M. Christian Moore went 3-5 with an RBI. Kavares Tears went 3-5 with 4 RBI thanks to a home run and a double. On the mound, it was AJ Causey who stood out as he relieved Chris Stamos after 3.1 innings and went on to strike out seven batters, off five hits and two runs in 4 innings of work. Stamos also had a solid day as he allowed just one run off of one hit and walked one batter.

Some names on Mississippi State's roster to watch for are Connor Hujsak who is batting .352 on the season with nine home runs and 49 RBI. Dakota Jordan is batting .341 with 17 home runs and 61 RBI. As a pitching staff this season, Mississippi State has an ERA of 4.13, opponents are batting just .229 against them and are 13th in the nation for strikeouts per nine innings.

The Volunteers will have to work hard to get the bats going in this one and with it being an elimination game, both sides can expect the other to pour in every asset and throw eveyrthing they got in this game

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