Tennessee: Weekend Preview vs Texas A&M

The Tennessee Volunteers are gearing up to host the Texas A&M Aggies in their SEC home opener at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this weekend. After a tough series against Mizzou, where we saw the Vols get swept and outscored 23-6 in three games, they will be looking to bounce back in front of their home crowd.

Fortunately for Tennessee, they won't have to contend with the frigid temperatures that plagued them in Missouri, as game time temperatures in Knoxville are expected to be in the 70s throughout the weekend. The Vols will be hoping that the warmer weather will help heat up their bats against the Aggies.

Tennessee Athletics, Lindsey Nelson Stadium

On the other side of the diamond, Texas A&M is coming off a series loss to LSU, with their only win coming on Sunday after being soundly beaten in the first two games. The Aggies were a preseason top 10 team, but have since fallen to 18th in the CBC poll this week. Despite their high expectations, Texas A&M has been fairly mediocre this season statistically.

Here is how the Vols and Aggies have stacked up by numbers:

Vols:

Batting average .292 (T-83rd nationally)

OBP .408 (58th)

SLG .565 (11th)

HR 22 (6th)

ERA 2.50 (3rd)

Aggies:

Batting Average .276 (127th nationally)

OBP .408 (59th)

SLG .427 (148th)

HR 19 (T-134th)

ERA 4.19 (42nd)

Fans can expect a thrilling Friday night game from the Tennessee Volunteers as they take on Texas A&M in their SEC home opener. Tennessee's Chase Dollander is expected to deliver a strong bounce back start on the mound despite his tendency to struggle early in games. On the offensive side, Coach Vitello has been searching for a solution in the outfield and after shaking up the lineup in a midweek game, it's unclear how the Vols will line up against the Aggies this weekend. However, one thing that's certain is that Tennessee's weekend rotation won't be changing anytime soon.

Projected pitching matchups:

Nathan Dettmer (1-2, 3.24 ERA) v. Chase Dollander (3-2, 3.90 ERA)

Troy Wansing (2-1, 2.42 ERA) v. Chase Burns (2-1, 3.41 ERA)

Justin Lamkin (1-1, 1.33 ERA) v. Drew Beam (3-1, 2.25 ERA)