Tony Vitello opens up on challenges of Kentucky's deep pitching rotation

No. 24 Tennessee hosts No. 17 Kentucky in a must-win series this weekend with potential postseason implications on the line. Before the game, Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello examined the Wildcats’ strong pitching rotation and how he plans to hinder UK’s recent success on the mound.

“They formally announced that [Travis] Smith will throw, who threw for them, if I’m not mistaken, the outing before that was on a Tuesday against Louisville, who’s an SEC-quality baseball program,” Vitello said. “Even though he’s a redshirt freshman, he’s got experience. He kind of knows what’s going on and he’s a competitor. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the ball on Friday.

“You take a look at who you’re facing, and as those guys — those new guys, those first-year guys who are playing more and more — you get a little more data, you get a little more analytics, and it does probably actually sway a little easier to prepare. Now once the game starts, you just play ball.”

Smith (4-1) earned co-SEC Freshman of the Week honors last week and will make his 11th start on the bump this season for the Wildcats on Friday. He comes into the matchup with a 3.62 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched this season. In that time he has allowed 16 runs (15 earned) on 28 hits and has let up 20 walks. The Vols have elected to start RHP Andrew Lindsey (0-2, 3.11) against Smith.

Kentucky will pitch LHP Tyler Bosma (4-3, 5.04) on Saturday and RHP Zack Lee (4-2, 3.54) on Sunday. The latter of which is coming off a career-high 12-strikeout game in his last outing.

A win over Tennessee in this weekend’s series will put Kentucky in a solid position to earn a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, meaning they get to host their own regional tournament. A series loss to the Wildcats, who are No. 1 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and have the No. 1 strength of schedule in the nation, would see the Vols on the outside looking in when it comes to being a regional host.

Tennessee has been stellar inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols sit 33-16 on the season but are 30-4 on their home field. With Kentucky looking to get the better of their conference rival, the first pitch in Knoxville is set for 6:30 p.m. ET live on SECN+.

They’ll pick back up at Noon ET on Saturday for game two and 1 p.m. ET for the series finale on Sunday.