The time for hype and speculation is over. The College World Series is set to begin.

For the Hoos, they’ll kick off the action in their pool with Tennessee. The Volunteers are the number three national seed. As such, they’ll present a strong challenge for UVA and their possible march as 2021’s team of destiny.

✅ The official team pic ?#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/K4g5JGCEKL

— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) June 18, 2021

Game Schedule

Sunday, June 20 – 2:00 PM

Team Records

Virginia: 35-25 (Overall), 18-18 (ACC)

Tennessee: 50-16 (Overall), 20-10 (SEC)

Common Opponents

Both teams share South Carolina and Liberty on their respective schedules.

Tennessee went 2-1 during the regular season against the Gamecocks. UVA went 1-1 against South Carolina in the Columbia Regional.

UVA went 1-1 against Liberty during the regular season. Tennessee went 2-0 against the Flames during the  Knoxville Regional.

Stat Comparison

Stats and rankings are as of games completed through June 14, 2021.

Batting

OBP = On Base Percentage

SLG = Slugging Percentage

Pitching

K/9 = Strikeouts Per 9 Innings

BB/9 = Walks Per 9 Innings

Miscellaneous

FLD % = Fielding Percentage

SOS = Strength Of Schedule

Note that all stats are from NCAA.com. Strength of schedule data is from Warrennolan.com and is as of games played through June 14, 2021.

Ballpark Comparison

How do the home parks of Tennessee and UVA compare to TD Ameritrade in Omaha?

Projected Starting Pitchers

Tennessee RHP Chad Dallas (11-1, 4.10 ERA, 96.2 IP, 19 walks, 118 strikeouts) vs UVA LHP Andrew Abbott (8-6, 3.04 ERA, 100.2 IP, 30 walks, 142 strikeouts)

Dallas, a junior from Orange, Texas, is in his second season with Tennessee. A JUCO transfer from Panola College in Carthage, Texas, Dallas entered the Volunteer’s program after one season in the JUCO ranks. Also note that Dallas goes by the nickname Cheese.

How the Chad Dallas became…

THE CHEESE ?pic.twitter.com/xGZbgbnYwq

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 13, 2021

During the abbreviated 2020 season, Dallas posted a 3-0 record for Tennessee in 4 appearances (all starts). The 3 wins were tied for third highest in the SEC. He completed the season with a 2.53 ERA in 21.1 innings pitched. In those 21.1 innings, he walked 6 while striking out 21. Dallas led Tennessee in innings pitched and finished second on the team in strikeouts. Opposing batters hit .235 against Dallas during the 2020 season.

During the 2021 season, Dallas built on the success from his rookie year in Division 1. Opposing batters are still hitting .235 against him. And the ERA is higher than 2020. But Dallas was recognized with multiple All-American honors for his efforts – NCBWA Third Team All-American, ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-American.

During the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Dallas has 2 starts in as many appearances. He started the Knoxville Regional opener for Tennessee against Wright State. In that game, a 9 to 8 Tennessee win, Dallas went 4.1 innings. He gave up 4 runs (all earned) to the Raiders in the start. Dallas surrendered 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 in the no decision.

Dallas also started the opener of the Knoxville Super Regional against LSU. Dallas earned the win in that game, a 4 to 2 Tennessee victory. Against the Tigers, Dallas threw 6.0 innings of 5 hit baseball. He gave up 2 runs (1 earned) against LSU. He also walked none while striking out a career high 12 batters.

D1 Baseball’s lead scout David Seifert saw Dallas in his April 9 start at home against Florida. In that game, Dallas struck out a then career high 11 batters. According to Seifert, Dallas utilizes a multi pitch arsenal – fastball, cutter, and curveball. Other outlets also credit Dallas with having a slider and changeup.

Dallas, who likes to work quickly and aggressively according to Seifert, throws his fastball 92 to 93 while topping out at 94 MPH. Seifert noted that Dallas prefers to pitch off of his breaking pitches, looking to vary speeds and shape to keep hitters off balance. Seifert’s notes have the curveball ranging 79 to 83, but mostly being thrown in the 81 to 82 range. Seifert also has a cutter listed as an above average pitch that works 84 to 86 MPH.

Tyler Jennings of Prospects Live, who saw Dallas pitch against Vanderbilt, has his changeup in the 85 to 87 MPH range. Perfect Game scouted Dallas during the SEC Tourney. They noted his slider in the same 85 to 87 MPH range as Jennings did with the changeup.

Chad Dallas (‘21 Elig.) 90-93 mph so far this morning for @Vol_Baseball throwing both the the curveball 80-82 with depth and the hard slider 85-87 for strikes with the slider as the put away pitch #PGDraft pic.twitter.com/dKGp1upIKj

— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 27, 2021

Weather Forecast Via Weather.com

Expect temps in the lower 90s throughout the game. Skies should be partly cloudy throughout.

And it’s not a warm, summer day in Omaha without some threat of rain and thunderstorms. The current forecast has the chance of rain at 17% at 2:00 PM. That increases to 24% at 3:00 PM.

And the chance of scattered thunderstorms enters the picture at 4:00 PM with a 36% chance. That will persist until 6:00 PM.

Winds will be 10 to 15 MPH throughout the game.

Media Coverage

The game broadcast will be on ESPN2. ESPN will also carry streaming on their various streaming platforms.

The radio broadcast will be carried on WINA.com or over the air in the Charlottesville area by WINA on 98.9 FM or 1070 AM.

Volunteer To Watch

Tennessee has a potent offense as you’d expect after glancing at their team stats. So there’s multiple candidates that can fit in this space.

But junior 3B Jake Rucker gets the call. Others to watch are Liam Spence (OPS leader), Jordan Beck (HR/RBI leader), and Drew Gilbert (second in RBI).

Rucker enters the College World Series with numerous accolades for his work in 2021: First Team All-SEC, Third Team All-American from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and Third Team All-American from Baseball America.

Rucker also enters the College World series sporting a .331 / .400 / .526 slash line. That equates to an OPS of .926 which is second among Tennessee regulars.

Rucker’s .526 slugging percentage tops the Vols while his .331 batting average and .400 on base percentage are  both in the top three for Tennessee regulars (batting average second, on base percentage third).

Rucker’s 88 hits, 21 doubles, and 2 triples all top Tennessee regulars as well (triples are tied). His 55 RBI are third among Tennessee regulars. And his 9 homers are sixth on the squad.

Rucker has also stolen 7 bases which ranks fourth for Tennessee.

On the downside, Rucker is second on the squad with 62 strikeouts on the season.

Jake Rucker with a 2-run ? put @Vol_Baseball up 2-0 early!#RoadToOmaha x ? ESPNU pic.twitter.com/OFd2n1GGCk

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 13, 2021

Prediction

Anyone still playing baseball at this point of the season will be a stiff challenge. It comes with the territory in Omaha. So there’s nothing particularly scary or special about this Tennessee club in that regard. The Hoos were going to face a quality opponent no matter the draw.

That, however, doesn’t mean the Hoos can relax and play “happy to be there” if they want to avoid a quick trip to the loser’s bracket. And while UVA has shown an immense amount of comfort playing from that spot, it would be nice to see the view from the winner’s bracket during the 2021 postseason.

The outcome of this game likely pivots on two factors. First, who wins the battle between the UVA pitching staff and the Tennessee offense? And how does the Tennessee offense play in a park that usually favors pitching?

I think the Hoos see a vintage Andrew Abbott performance to open UVA’s 2021 College World Series. Abbott takes advantage of Tennessee’s penchant for striking out (557 times on the season compared to 423 times for the Hoos). And TD Ameritrade smiles on native-ish son Brian O’Connor to keep some of those long Tennessee fly balls in the stadium.

Oak picks up career win 750 and the Hoos (finally) advance into a winner’s bracket.