Regional Preview: Tennessee to Host Alabama State

Regional Preview: Tennessee Vols Baseball to Host Alabama State Baseball

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– The top-ranked Tennessee Baseball Volunteers are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history and will host a Regional Tournament for the second consecutive season. 

As announced on Monday, the BaseVols are hosting 2-seed Georgia Tech, 3-seed Campbell and 4-seed Alabama State. Campbell and Georgia Tech face off at 12 p.m. ET in Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Friday, while Tennessee is set to take on the SWAC winners in the Alabama State Hornets at 6 p.m. ET. The winners of each game will play against each other on Saturday, and the losers of each game will do the same. 

Tennessee enters the tournament coming off their first SEC Tournament in 27 years, going 4-0 in Hoover to bring the trophy back to Knoxville. 

To continue on their road back to Omaha, the Vols will look to come out of the Knoxville Regional and advance to Supers. First for the Vols in the double elimination tournament this weekend in LNS is Alabama State, so let's take a look at the Hornets. 

Notable Bats

Corey King: 

Alabama State's leadoff hitter Corey King has led the Hornets in nearly every statistical category in his sophomore season. 

King is batting .367 with 87 hits (19 extra-base hits), 14 homers and 64 RBIs in 237 at-bats. King enters the weekend with a .637 slugging percentage and .451 on-base percentage. 

When Tony Vitello was asked about King in his pre-tournament press conference, the Vols' skipper noted while King is definitely one to pay attention to, Alabama State has a handful of players who can do damage. 

"We kinda had an argument in the office as to who is the most dangerous guy? A lot of the reports label [King] as their best guy," Vitello said. "What you see out of him is presence. As you get older and are comfortable in your skin, it helps. And he has that. But there are three or four names in that lineup that move around very well athletically and have good swings. They've got about four or five guys that have really good numbers... he just happens to be the leadoff guy, and a dynamic one at that."

Other Alabama State bats to know are Hunter May (.315 batting avg., 8 HR, 52 RBI, 22 extra-base hits, 50 walks) and Kyler McIntosh (.400 batting avg., .644 slg %, 22 RBI on 36 Hits) 

**McIntosh doubles as a pitcher for Alabama State (4-4, 5.78 ERA in 17 app. 9 starts (67 IP))

Alabama State Pitching

RHP Breon Pooler: 

Pooler figures to get the ball for Alabama State on Friday and has served as the Hornets' top ace all season. 

Stats: (10-2, 3.19 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 85 K/43 BB, 71 H, 3 HR, .34 R, 30 ER, 225 b/avg., 84.2 IP in 16 app. (14 starts), 1 complete game)

When asked about Pooler, Vitello said the following on Alabama State's top starter:

"Breon is not scared. Jordan Beck knows him well. Kind of your shortstop converted pitcher type guy, so you know he's a good athlete," Vitello said of Pooler. "He's shown he can throw a lot of strikes. I believe he came in in the final of their tournament after starting and throwing 100 pitches, and you don't do that unless you want the ball. And of course, his teammates wanted him to have the ball. He threw an excess amount of pitches on Sunday to help them win that thing... He's kind of their guy they like to hand the ball to. And he's certainly not afraid, and that's probably the reason why, and you are going to get some strikes in particular with his fast ball."

Reliever RHP Payton Harris (3-2, 2.18 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 4 saves, 47 K/31 BB, 3 HR, .206 b/avg., 19 R, 13 ER, 40 H, 53.2 IP in 25 app.) is the top bullpen arm for the Hornets. If Alabama State aims to pull out all the stops against Tennessee, a Pooler-Harris combination would make sense against for the Hornets on Friday.

Tennessee Info

Tennessee will start Blade Tidwell on the mound, as Tony Vitello announced on the Tony Basilio Show on Wednesday. This opens the door for Chase Dollander to start on Friday, and for Chase Burns and Drew Beam to pitch on Sunday. For more on Vitello's pitching plans over the weekend, see the video at the top of the article. 

As for the Tennessee lineup, no major changes figure to occur. Blake Burke is the top spot at DH, especially with a righty starting on Friday. But Jared Dickey and Christian Moore, among others, will see their fair share of at-bats throughout the weekend. 

How to Watch

SEC Network has the broadcast. John Wilkerson will be on the call for Vol Network Radio.

Did you know Volunteer Country on SI does Podcasts? Check out the staff's latest breakdowns here.

Volunteer Country on SI is also on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Check out any of the links to ensure you do not miss any of the coverage of your favorite Tennessee teams!

You can follow the staff, Matt, Jake, Dale and Jack on Twitter by clicking any of their names.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Vols targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects

Sports Illustrated also offers insight, information and up to the minute details for gamblers. Check it out here.