Tennessee Vols baseball falls in top 25 poll after 1-2 start to the season
The 2023 baseball season didn't get off to a smooth start for the Tennessee Vols. Tennessee made its way out to Arizona for the opening weekend of the season and they dropped their first two games, falling 3-1 to Arizona on Friday and 4-3 to Grand Canyon on Saturday. The Vols seemingly got back on […]
The 2023 baseball season didn't get off to a smooth start for the Tennessee Vols.
Tennessee made its way out to Arizona for the opening weekend of the season and they dropped their first two games, falling 3-1 to Arizona on Friday and 4-3 to Grand Canyon on Saturday.
The Vols seemingly got back on track on Sunday against UC-San Diego as the bats came to life and the pitching was fantastic in a 7-0 win.
Part of the reason the Volunteers were a bit out of sorts this weekend is because they were without two key transfer additions.
Outfielder Griffin Merritt, a transfer from Cincinnati, had to sit out the first two games due to a suspension (stemming from his final game with the Bearcats last season).
Shortstop Maui Ahuna, the Vols' high-profile offseason addition from Kansas, didn't play in any of the three games as he's awaiting clearance from the NCAA.
On Monday, the new rankings from D1 Baseball were released and they didn't drop Tennessee as far as I expected.
D1 has the Vols falling just one spot in the polls from No. 2 to No. 3 (they were jumped by Stanford).
It's clear that D1 believes in the Vols and they're not putting much stock into a couple of early-season losses.
And I think that's the right outlook. Baseball is unlike other sports in that it's a marathon, not a sprint.
The Vols have a lot of new faces this season. There's plenty of talent in Knoxville — more than enough talent to make it to Omaha. But that talent is still figuring out how to gel with each other. Tennessee baseball is still elite, despite the two tough early-season losses. And based on D1's rankings, I'm far from the only one who feels that way.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
