Kentucky baseball (20-14, 6-9 SEC) is set to hit the road as it will head to Knoxville, Tennessee for a clash with No. 4 Tennessee (32-5, 11-4 SEC).

What to Watch

With half of the SEC slate already in the books, these two programs have been on two different journeys.

The Wildcats have lost four of their five series in SEC play to Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss and Texas. Kentucky’s lone series win came on the road against Texas A&M.

On the contrary, the Vols lone series loss in SEC play came against the Aggies. However, they have won series against Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss.

Both teams’ seasons ended in Omaha as Kentucky came up just short and Tennessee was the last team standing as it was crowned National Champions.

The Vols are on a quest to go back-to-back while the Bat Cats are fighting to make the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

Despite that, Kentucky and Tennessee is one of the more storied rivalries in college sports. On the diamond, the Volunteers hold a 184-156 all-time record advantage over the Wildcats.

The latest chapter between the two was written last season at Kentucky Proud Park in an electric series that saw the Vols take two out of three games.

Offense

Starting with an overall look at the offenses, the home Volunteers are third in the SEC with a .314 batting average. Tennessee is first in the conference with a .601 slugging percentage and third in the SEC with a .436 team on-base percentage.

Kentucky comes in at 15th in the SEC when it comes to team batting average and slugging percentage with marks of .274 and .427 respectively. The Bat Cats improve to 10th in the conference with a .399 on-base percentage.

Switching over to individual threats, Cole Hage leads the Wildcats in Batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage with numbers at .322, .465 and .603 respectively.

Tyler bell is just one point behind Hage with a .321 batting average and is second amongst Bat Cat starters with a .526 slugging percentage. The freshman phenom is getting on-base at a .394 clip. 

Finishing off the Wildcats offensive threats is Patrick Herrera who is second amongst starters with a .467 on-base percentage. The senior has accumulated a .317 batting average and a .406 slugging percentage.

As for the home Vols, their biggest bat stats-wise is Hunter Ensley, who has hit to a team-leading .346 batting average, .437 on-base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage. 

Andrew Fischer leads the team in the power department with a .773 slugging percentage. The junior is also hitting to a .309 batting average and a .503 on-base percentage. 

Dalton Bargo is not too far behind in slugging percentage as he is at .763 on the season. Bargo has also accumulated a .330 batting average and a .463 on-base percentage. 

Overall Pitching

Tennessee enters the series with a 3.16 team ERA, which is good for second in the SEC. The Vols are tied for third in the conference with a .214 batting average against.

Kentucky sits a seventh in the SEC in both team ERA, which is at 4.12 ERA and a .227 batting average against.

Pitching Matchups

For game one, the Wildcats are expected to send Nate Harris to the hill for his third straight SEC start. The right-hander has made seven starts on the year and pitched to a 3.03 ERA as he’s allowed 10 earned runs in 29 2/3 innings of work. Harris has struck out 21 and walked 10 on the year. Opposing hitters are hitting .218 off the righty. 

Liam Doyle is expected to take the home mound in game one and he has pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 51 innings on the season. The lefty has struck out an eye popping 95 batters and only walked 16. Doyle has allowed 14 earned runs and opposing batters are hitting .153 off the right-hander. 

For game two, the Bat Cats are expected to send Nic McCay to the mounds. The righty has tossed 42 innings and given up 17 earned runs., which equates to a 3.64 ERA. McCay has struck out 39 and walked 26 in nine starts on the years. Hitters are hitting to a .167 batting average off of McCay.

Tennessee is set to send Marcus Phillips to the mound for the middle game of the series, and he enters the game with a 3.30 ERA as he’s given up 16 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander has struck out 54 and walked 13 on the season. Phillips is pitching to a .205 batting average against in his nine starts.

For the series finale, Kentucky is expected to send Ben Cleaver to the mound, who leads the pitching staff with 56 strikeouts. The lefty has tossed 47 innings and allowed 15 earned runs, which equals out to a 2.87 ERA. Cleaver has walked 16 batters and opposing hitter are hitting .175 off the lefty.

Rounding out the home rotation is expected to be Tegan Kuhns, who comes in with a 2.86 ERA as he’s given up seven earned runs in 22 innings of work. The right-hander has struck out 23 and only walked seven. Opposing hitters are batting .239 off of Khuns.

With the stage now set, Kentucky and Tennessee will write the next chapter in its storied rivalry on the diamond in game one on Friday, April 18, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. ET.