Rocky Topics: Was Tennessee baseball overrated entering SEC play?

On this week’s installment of Rocky Topics, Gray LaRose and Ben McKee debate whether Tennessee baseball was overrated entering SEC play.

LaRose: Are the Baseball Vols back? As much as it pains me to say, not quite yet. Now, I’m not saying that the Vols won’t be an NCAA Tournament team by the end of the season. But, were they overrated through pre-SEC play? Absolutely. Tennessee looked an impressive 12-2 prior to last weekend’s SEC opener against South Carolina.

What’s not impressive? The Vols only had series wins against Memphis, Norfolk State and Cincinnati. That’s not the most difficult out-of-conference schedule for an SEC roster. This Tennessee staff brought in a lot of young talent this offseason, signing another top-20 class. If freshman pitchers Garrett Stallings and Zach Linginfelter can continue to find their stride on the mound, the Vols could end up a NCAA Tournament team.

That being said, it’s too early in the year to jump aboard the hype train. How an unproven, underclass-ridden team can climb into the top-25 after just 14 games is beyond me — especially since the Vols’ opponents have a 48-43 combined record. We will see how SEC play goes, but it looks like another early season hype train will soon be departing Knoxville.

McKee: I understand why people are already jumping off of the Tennessee baseball bandwagon, but let’s be real — they’ve played three SEC games. The Vols aren’t 0-10 in SEC play, they’re 0-3.

Yes, being swept by No. 8 South Carolina led to a rough weekend. However, the final scores of game one and game two are misleading. (We’re going to pretend there was no game three, as it was the Vols’ worst game of the season.)

On Friday night, Tennessee lost 7-1, but the final score doesn’t show that the game was knotted at 1-1 in the sixth inning. Vols’ senior pitcher Hunter Martin was outstanding on the mound. It may not appear so, but Tennessee had plenty of chances to win the game. The Vols’ left way too many runners on base, head coach Dave Serrano made a costly pitching change and the defense faltered late. On Saturday, the Vols lost to the Gamecocks 6-4 in extra innings. Similar to Friday night, Tennessee missed out on far too many opportunities and dug themselves into too many holes.

At the end of the day, it comes down to execution, and the Vols didn’t execute. However, this team is more than capable of executing. With a little more seasoning, they’ll do just that.

LaRose: You hit it exactly on the head — everything comes down to in-game execution. Dave Serrano is battling for his job this season and can’t afford to make questionable late-game decisions in SEC play. Yes, the Vols are only 0-3 in the SEC and yes, South Carolina is arguably one of the best teams in the country. That doesn’t change the fact that the inexperienced Vols continue to make mistakes, mistakes that a team wanting to compete for an SEC title can’t make.

You said it best, “this team is more than capable of executing and with a little more seasoning.” The Vols are inexperienced, and need time to mature before they can reach their full potential.

I just think that cracking the top-25 this early in the season after the schedule they have played is a bit of a reach. Do they have the ability to be that good? Yes. Are they currently overrated? Unfortunately, I think so.

McKee: It’s too early to justify that the Vols are overrated. Tennessee is only 15 games into a 53-game schedule. For the first time in quite some time, the Vols have talent, it’s just young talent. The lineup and pitching staff is loaded with freshmen in which the Vols rely heavily on.

Two of Tennessee’s top three hitters in the lineup are freshman — outfielders Jay Charleston and Justin Ammons are slotted into the two and three holes, respectively. Ammons’ .350 batting average is third-best on the team. Fellow freshmen Andre Lipcius and Pete Derkay are slotted in the heart of the lineup. Lipcius won the first baseman job and Derkay has been catching more than veteran Benito Santiago. The two have provided a spark to the Vols’ offense, both hitting north of .310 to begin the season.

On the mound, Zach Linginfelter has proven to be Tennessee’s best arm just 17 games into his true freshman season. Garrett Stallings is another freshman arm who Dave Serrano thinks will be a very, very special player by the time his career is done.

Mix in veterans Jeff Moberg, Jordan Rodgers and Zach Warren, and this team can be a very good one. Nobody is saying Tennessee is going to win a national championship this season, but the Vols will make some noise in the SEC. Once the young guys become acclimated and get some experience under their belts, this team could be dangerous.

Edited by Nathan Odom

Featured image by Austin Perryman, courtesy of Tennessee Athletics