2023 Tennessee Volunteers baseball team explained

Mode:	baseball
Year:	2023
Team:	Tennessee Volunteers
Conference:	Southeastern Conference
Division:	Eastern Division
Short Conf:	SEC
Coachrank:	21
Record:	44–22
Conf Record:	16–14
Head Coach:	Tony Vitello
Hc Year:	6th
Asst Coach1:	Frank Anderson
Asst Coach2:	Josh Elander
Stadium:	Lindsey Nelson Stadium
Champion:	NCAA Clemson Regional champions Hattiesburg Super Regional champions
Bowl:	College World Series
Bowl Result:	1–2
Prev Year:	2022
Next Year:	2024

The 2023 Tennessee Volunteers baseball team represented the University of Tennessee in the 2023 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Volunteers played their home games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Previous season

The Volunteers finished 57–9, 25–5 in the SEC to finish in first place in the East division and overall in the regular season. The Volunteers also won the 2022 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament. The overall number one seed in the 2022 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, they hosted the 2022 Knoxville Regional and finished 3–0. The Vols then hosted Notre Dame in the Knoxville Super Regional, losing 1–2 in the three-game series.

Preseason

Preseason SEC awards and honors

Infielder Cam Redding was named to the SEC Preseason team.^[1]

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason All-SEC First Team
	11	SP	Senior
	23	SP	Junior

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason All-SEC Second Team
	2	SS	Junior
Camden Sewell	16	RP

Coaches poll

The SEC baseball coaches' poll was released on February 9, 2023. Tennessee was picked to finish first the SEC East.^[1]

SEC East Coaches' Poll
1	Tennessee	90 (12)
2	Florida	79 (2)
3	Vanderbilt	64
4	South Carolina	51
5	Georgia	48
6	Kentucky	34
7	Missouri	19

Personnel

Starters

Lineup^[2]
Pos.	No.	Player.	Year
C	14	Charlie Taylor	RS Sophomore
1B	25	Blake Burke	Sophomore
2B	1		Sophomore
3B	44	Zane Denton	Senior
SS	2	Maui Ahuna	Junior
LF	17	Jared Dickey	RS Sophomore
CF	9	Hunter Ensley	RS Sophomore
RF	8	Christian Scott	Senior
DH	10	Griffin Merritt	Graduate

Weekend Pitching Rotation
Day	No.	Player.	Year
Friday	29	Andrew Lindsey	Junior
Saturday	11	Chase Dollander	Junior
Sunday	23	Drew Beam	Sophomore

Coaching Staff

2023 Tennessee Volunteers coaching staff
Name	Position	Seasons at Tennessee
	Head Coach	6
	Assistant Coach/Pitching	6
Josh Elander	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator	6
Richard Jackson	Volunteer Assistant Coach	4
Luke Bonfield	Director of Player Development	4
Ricky Martinez	Student Assistant Coach	2
Quentin Eberhardt	Director of Baseball Sports Performance	6

Offseason

Signing Day Recruits

The following players signed National Letter of Intents to play for Tennessee in 2023.

Pitchers
Austin Hunley		Mount Juliet
AJ Russell
Andrew Behnke		Donelson Christian
JJ Garcia		Combine
Hunter Sloop		P27 Academy
Hitters
Jake Kendro		Norwin
Reese Chapman		Grandview (CO)
		Hays

2022 MLB Draft

See main article: 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

1	28		OF	Houston Astros
2	38		RF	Colorado Rockies
2	52		RHP	New York Mets
3	84		3B	Washington Nationals
3	89		RHP	Los Angeles Angels
6	168	Will Mabrey	LHP	Arizona Diamondbacks
6	174	Jorel Ortega	SS	Minnesota Twins
7	207	Seth Stephenson	LF	Detroit Tigers
7	221	Mark McLaughlin	RHP	Chicago White Sox
14	411	Cortland Lawson	SS	Washington Nationals

Schedule and results

2023 Tennessee Volunteers Baseball Game Log (44–22)

Regular Season (38–18)

February (7–2)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
MLB Desert Invitational
February 17	vs. No. 25 Arizona*	No. 2	Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Scottsdale, AZ	L 1–3	Burke (1–0)	Dollander (0–1)	Ebbing (1)		6,389	0–1	—
February 18	at *	No. 2	Brazell Field Phoenix, AZ	L 3–4	Avitia (1–0)	Lindsey (0–1)	None	MLBN	4,447	0–2	—
February 19	vs. *	No. 2	Sloan Park Mesa, AZ	W 7–0	Beam (1–0)	Chriss (0–1)	None	MLBN	2,182	1–2	—

February 21		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium Knoxville, TN	W 10–0⁸	Fitzgibbons (1–0)	Sorrell (0–1)	None		4,550	2–2	—
February 22	Alabama A&M*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 23–1⁷	Combs (1–0)	Mateo (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,382	3–2	—
February 24	Dayton	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 12–2	Dollander (1–1)	Steinhauer (0–2)	None	SECN+	4,264	4–2	—
February 25	Dayton*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 4–1	Burns (1–0)	Manfredi (0–1)	Halvorsen (1)	SECN+	4,024	5–2	—
February 26	Dayton*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 6–0	Burns (2–0)	Espelin (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,305	6–2	—
February 28		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 6–1	Halvorsen (1–0)	Massey (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,088	7–2	—

March (13–6)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
March 1	Charleston Southern*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 8–2	Fitzgibbons (2–0)	Olsen (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,115	8–2	—
March 3		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 8–2	Dollander (2–1)	Wild (0–2)	None	SECN+	4,335	9–2	—
March 4	Gonzaga*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 7–2	Connell (1–0)	Graham (0–1)	None	SECN+	5,037	10–2	—
March 5	Gonzaga*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 19–7	Jenkins (1–0)	Deschryver (0–2)	None	SECN+	4,558	11–2	—
March 7		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	L 6–7	Nunan (1–0)	Halvorsen (1–1)	None	SECN+	4,749	11–3	—
March 10		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 23–4	Dollander (3–1)	Helton (2–2)	None	SECN+	4,171	12–3	—
March 11	Morehead State*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 6–0	Burns (2–0)	Heron (2–1)	None	SECN+	4,205	13–3	—
March 12	Morehead State*	No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 6–3	Beam (3–0)	Bakke (1–1)	Halvorsen (2)	SECN+	4,162	14–3	—
March 14		No. 3	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–0	Combs (2–0)	Giles (0–2)	None	SECN+	4,174	15–2	—
March 17		No. 3	Taylor Stadium Columbia, MO	L 1–9	Murphy (3–1)	Dollander (3–2)	Maltrud (1)	SECN+	1,761	15–4	0–1
March 18	at No. 22 Missouri	No. 3	Taylor Stadium	L 4–7	Franklin (4–0)	Burns (2–1)	None	SECN+	2,764	15–5	0–2
March 19	at No. 22 Missouri	No. 3	Taylor Stadium	L 1–7	Troesser (2–1)	Beam (3–1)	None	SECN+	2,764	15–6	0–3
March 21		No. 12	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 7–0	Combs (3–0)	Visconti (2–2)	None	SECN+	4,312	16–6	—
March 24	No. 21	No. 12	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–4	Dollander (4–2)	Dettmer (1–3)	None	SECN+	4,700	17–6	1–3
March 25	No. 21 Texas A&M	No. 12	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 8–7	Sewell (1–0)	Johnston (2–1)	None		4,472	18–6	2–3
March 26	No. 21 Texas A&M	No. 12	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 9–6	Halvorsen (2–1)	Lamkin (1–2)	None		4,521	19–6	3–3
March 28		No. 10	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 5–0	Bimbi (1–0)	Sabo (2–1)	None	SECN+	4,228	20–6	—
March 30		No. 10	Alex Box Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	L 2–5	Edwards (4–0)	Halvorsen (2–2)	None	ESPNU	13,608	20–7	3–4
March 31	at No. 1 LSU	No. 10	Alex Box Stadium	L 4–6	Floyd (5–0)	Burns (2–2)	Herring (1)	SECN	12,551	20–8	3–5

April (10–6)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
April 1	at No. 1 LSU	No. 10	Alex Box Stadium	W 14–7	Sewell (2–0)	Hurd (2–1)	None	SECN+	11,805	21–8	4–5
April 6		No. 11	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	L 1–6	Sproat (5–1)	Dollander (4–3)	None	ESPNU	4,727	21–9	4–6
April 7	No. 3 Florida	No. 11	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	L 3–9	Waldrep (6–1)	Burns (2–3)	None	SECN	4,202	21–10	4–7
April 8	No. 3 Florida	No. 11	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 14–2⁸	Beam (4–1)	Caglianone (3–1)	None		4,020	22–10	5–7
April 11		No. 16	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 14–2⁷	Russell (1–0)	Yates (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,293	23–10	—
April 14		No. 16	Baum-Walker Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 2–5	Hollan (6–1)	Lindsey (0–2)	Smith (2)	SECN	11,043	23–11	5–8
April 15	at No. 5 Arkansas	No. 16	Baum-Walker Stadium	L 3–6	McEntire (5–1)	Dollander (4–4)	Wood (3)	SECN+	11,076	23–12	5–9
April 16	at No. 5 Arkansas	No. 16	Baum-Walker Stadium	L 2–7	Carter (6–0)	Beam (4–2)	None	SECN+	10,625	23–13	5–10
April 18			Lindsey Nelson Stadium	L 5–12	Smith (1–1)	Sechrist (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,190	23–14	—
April 21			Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 4–3¹²	Burns (3–3)	Maldonado (1–1)	None	SECN+	4,607	24–14	6–10
April 22	No. 4 Vanderbilt		Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 17–1⁷	Dollander (5–4)	Cunningham (1–2)	None	ESPN2	4,617	25–14	7–10
April 23	No. 4 Vanderbilt		Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–5	Beam (5–2)	Futrell (6–2)	None	ESPN2	4,518	26–14	8–10
April 25		No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 19–1	Bimbi (2–0)	Craven (1–3)	None	SECN+	3,991	27–14	—
April 27		No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 8–7	Burns (4–3)	Hunt (1–2)	None	SECN	4,011	28–14	9–10
April 28	Mississippi State	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 12–8	Sewell (3–0)	Tapper (2–1)	None	SECN+	4,471	29–14	10–10
April 29	Mississippi State	No. 24	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 13–2⁷	Beam (6–2)	Cijntje (3–3)	None	ESPNU	4,790	30–14	11–10

May (8–4)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	SEC record
May 2		No. 18	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 13–3⁷	Russell (2–0)	Cowan (3–3)	None	SECN+	4,442	31–14	—
May 5		No. 18	Foley Field Athens, GA	W 12–3	Sewell (4–0)	Smith (2–2)	None	SECN+	3,465	32–14	12–10
May 6	at Georgia	No. 18	Foley Field	L 1–3	Evans (2–0)	Dollander (5–5)	Finley (4)	SECN+	3,852	32–15	12–11
May 7	at Georgia	No. 18	Foley Field	L 4–9	Greenler (2–1)	Beam (6–3)	None	SECN+	3,506	32–16	12–12
May 9		No. 23	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 9–4	Combs (4–0)	Magrans (3–2)	None	SECN+	4,364	33–16	—
May 12		No. 23	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–6	Lindsey (1–2)	Smith (4–2)	None	SECN+	4,502	34–16	13–12
May 13	No. 17 Kentucky	No. 23	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 10–7	Dollander (6–5)	Bosma (4–4)	Burns (1)	SECN	4,457	35–16	14–12
May 14	No. 17 Kentucky	No. 23	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	L 0–10	Williams (4–1)	Beam (6–4)	None	SECN+	4,478	35–17	14–13
May 16		No. 18	Lindsey Nelson Stadium	W 9–5⁸	Joyce (1–0)	Times (0–1)	None	SECN+	4,191	36–17	—
May 19		No. 18	Founders Park Columbia, SC	W 5–0	Lindsey (2–2)	Jones (4–4)	None	SECN+	7,815	37–17	15–13
May 20	at No. 13 South Carolina	No. 18	Founders Park	L 1–6⁷	Mahoney (6–2)	Dollander (6–6)	None	SECN+	8,242	37–18	15–14
May 20	at No. 13 South Carolina	No. 18	Founders Park	W 12–1⁷	Beam (7–4)	Becker (4–3)	None	SECN+	6,784	38–18	16–14

Postseason (6–4)

Clemson Regional (3–0)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	NCAA record
June 2	vs. Charlotte (3)	No. 21 (2)	Doug Kingsmore Stadium Clemson, SC	W 8–1	Lindsey (3–2)	Kramer (6–5)	None	ESPN+	4,767	39–19	1—0
June 3	vs. No. 3 Clemson (1)	No. 21 (2)	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	W 6–5¹⁴	Halvorsen (6–5)	Tallent (1–1)	None	ESPN+	6,275	40–19	2—0
June 4	vs. Charlotte (3)	No. 21 (2)	Doug Kingsmore Stadium	W 9–2	Beam (8–4)	Spolyar (2–3)	None	ESPN+	5,106	41–19	3—0

Hattiesburg Super Regional (2–1)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	NCAA record
June 11		No. 21	Pete Taylor Park Hattiesburg, MS	L 3–5	Storm (7–2)	Lindsey (3–3)	None	ESPN+	5,820	41–20	0—1
June 11	at No. 13 Southern Miss	No. 21	Pete Taylor Park	W 8–4	Dollander (7–6)	Hall (12–4)	None	ESPN+	5,822	42–20	1—1
June 12	at No. 13 Southern Miss	No. 21	Pete Taylor Park	W 5–0	Beam (9–4)	Mazza (5–2)	Burns (2)	ESPN+	5,809	43–20	2—1

College World Series (1–2)
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Win	Loss	Save	TV	Attendance	Overall record	NCAA record
June 17	vs. No. 7 LSU (5)	No. 21	Charles Schwab Field Omaha, NE	L 3–6	Skenes (13–2)	Lindsey (3–4)	None	ESPN	25,010	43–21	0—1
June 19	vs. No. 6 Stanford (8)	No. 21	Charles Schwab Field	W 6–4	Burns (5–3)	Scott (5–5)	None	ESPN	23,886	44–21	1—1
June 20	vs. No. 7 LSU (5)	No. 21	Charles Schwab Field	L 0–5	Ackenhausen (3–0)	Beam (9–5)	None	ESPN	24,874	44–22	1—2

*Denotes non–conference game • Schedule source • Rankings based on the teams' current ranking in the D1Baseball poll
Tennessee win • Tennessee loss • • Bold denotes Tennessee player|}

Statistics

Record vs. conference opponents

Rankings

See main article: 2023 NCAA Division I baseball rankings.

External links

Tennessee Baseball

Notes and References

Web site: LSU Picked To Win 2023 SEC Baseball Championship . . secsports.com . March 24, 2023 . February 9, 2023.
https://twitter.com/Vol_Baseball/status/1664744427204624385?cxt=HHwWgoC-lZCPrpouAAAA Twitter