Belmont (35-17, 16-5 OVC) vs. #1 Tennessee (45-7, 22-5 SEC)
Tuesday, May 17 | 6pm ET/5pm CT
SEC Network+ | Bruin Sports Network | Live Stats | Game Notes
Lindsey Nelson Stadium | Knoxville, Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Belmont University baseball team will travel across the state for a highly-anticipated date with No. 1 Tennessee on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+, and live audio play-by-play will be broadcast on the Bruin Sports Network.
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Belmont is coming off a sweep of Eastern Illinois this past weekend that kept the Bruins in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference
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Belmont won 9-5 Friday, and 3-2 in ten innings on Saturday thanks to a walk-off home run from John Behrends. The Bruins wrapped up the sweep with a 5-3 win over the Panthers on Senior Day on Sunday.
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Since April 14, the Bruins are 14-5 with sweeps over Purdue, UT Martin, and Eastern Illinois
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Tuesday's projected pitching matchup will be: Belmont RHP Jordan Zuger (2-1, 3.03 ERA) vs. Tennessee LHP Zander Sechrist (4-0, 1.62 ERA)
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At 35-17, Belmont has their most wins since they went 38-20 in 2013, their first year in the OVC
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Belmont has already secured a top-2 spot in the OVC, which will be their highest placement in the standings since they joined the conference in 2013
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Belmont last defeated a top-five team on April 14, 2015, beating No. 4 Vanderbilt, 3-2
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Joshua South was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week on Monday morning after tossing eight innings with 11 strikeouts in Saturday's win over Eastern Illinois
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Belmont leads the OVC in ERA (4.19) and opponent batting average (.256), and has issued the 2nd-fewest walks (185) and allowed the 2nd-fewest home runs (45)
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Belmont is currently tied for 6th in the country in fielding percentage (.983) and is 34th in ERA (4.19)
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Guy Lipscomb is currently 22nd in the country in batting average (.399) and 5th in stolen bases (38). The sophomore from Franklin, Tenn., has already shattered the program record for stolen bases in a season and is on pace to set the single-season batting mark in the NCAA-era (.397, Dylan Craig, 2009)
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Kyle Brennan picked up his 14th save of the season on Sunday, moving into second place for saves in a single season in program history. Brennan trails Jon Ivie, who recorded 15 saves in 2011. Earlier this year, Brennan broke Ivie's mark for career saves by notching his 27th. The senior right-hander from Franklin, Tenn., currently owns 31 career saves.
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Belmont is 6-5 in midweek games this year
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The Bruins are 0-2 against ranked opponents this season, falling 13-4 to No. 4 Vanderbilt on March 22 and falling 3-2 to No. 24 Alabama on April 12
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Belmont is 16-55 against SEC opponents since 1998 (when they joined NCAA Division I)
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Tennessee has been the biggest story in college baseball this season, building off a College World Series appearance in 2021 clinching the SEC regular season championship with two weekends to go in conference play this year
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The Volunteers lead the country in ERA (2.36), hits allowed per nine innings (6.09), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.47), and WHIP (0.95)
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Tennessee also leads the country in home runs (120) and slugging percentage (.598)
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Ranked No. 1 for most of the season, Tennessee also leads the nation in wins (45)
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Tennessee's lone midweek loss this year was to Tennessee Tech, who dropped two out of three games to Belmont on April 8-10 before upsetting the Vols two days later in Kodak, Tenn., 3-2
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Since 1998, Tennessee leads the series 12-4
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Last season, Belmont lost 11-2 in Knoxville to the fourth-ranked Volunteers on May 18
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Guy Lipscomb went 2-for-4 with a walk in two stolen bases in last season's matchup, and Logan Jarvis finished 2-for-4
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Belmont's last win in the series came in 2011, a 6-3 win over Tennessee at Lindsey Nelson Stadium
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The Bruins' other wins came in 2008, 2005, and 2004
