CWS finals game 1 preview

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Path to the finals:

Beat Florida 3-2, beat Kentucky 5-1, beat Florida 6-0

Projected lineup:

3B Gavin Grahovac; .303, 22 HR, 64 RBI, .999 OPS; SEC Freshman of the Year

RF Jace LaViolette; .306, 28 HR, 77 RBI, 1.184 OPS; first team All-SEC, All-American

C Jackson Appel; .321, 10 HR, 40 RBI, .945 OPS; First team All-SEC, All-American

DH Hayden Schott; .333, 8 HR, 61 RBI, .923 OPS

1B Ted Burton; .292, 9 HR, 44 RBI, .950 OP

LF Caden Sorrell; .266, 11 HR, 40 RBI, .930 OPS

SS Ali Camarillo; .293, 7 HR, 36 RBI, .831 OPS

2B Kaeden Kent; .320, 3 HR, 24 RBI, .891 OPS

CF Travis Chestnut; .260, 3 HR, 13 RBI, .869 OPS

Getting the start:

LHP Ryan Prager; 9-1, 2.88 ERA, 93.2 IP, 75 H, 20 BB, 118 K; first-team All-SEC, All-American

In the bullpen:

LHP Evan Aschenbeck; 6-1, 1.54 ERA, 10 saves, 70 IP, 47 H, 12 BB, 77 K; first team All-SEC, All-American, Stopper of the Year

RHP Chris Cortez; 10-3, 2.98 ERA, 60.1 IP, 41 H, 32 BB, 95 K

RHP Brad Rudis; 6-0, 2.29 ERA, 35.1 IP, 34 H, 12 BB, 35 K

RHP Brock Peery; 2-1, 3.60 ERA, 20 IP, 6 H, 17 BB, 22 K

RHP Zane Badmaev; 3-0, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 IP, 16 H, 5 BB, 27 K

LHP Kaiden Wilson; 0-1, 8.31 ERA, 8.2 IP, 14 H, 6 BB, 13 K

RHP Josh Stewart; 1-2, 4.33 ERA, 27 IP, 28H, 6 BB, 34 K

A&M by the numbers:

Batting average: .298 (53rd nationally)

Home runs: 133 (5th nationally)

Runs: 560 (7th nationally)

Walks: 413 (1st nationally)

Scoring: 8.6 runs per game (19th nationally)

Shutouts: 12 (1st nationally)

Strikeout to walk percentage: 3.27 (4th nationally)

Strikeouts per 9 innings: 10.8 (8th nationally)

Walks allowed per 9 innings: 3.31 (12th nationally)

ERA: 3.80 (3rd nationally)

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello is well aware of what A&M has done in Omaha. He dismissed the Vols’ 7-4 win over the Aggies in the SEC Tournament, saying A&M is very different now compared to a month ago.

“Florida's younger guys are getting more experience, which A&M shut them down. And you've got the most dangerous guy, him and (Georgia’s) Charlie (Condon), you know, I don't include our players in any of that, and Cags (Florida’s Jac Caglianone). So they're capable of shutting down anybody,” he said. “Then, again, you get to this point, every lineup, I feel like ours and theirs, can get you at any one spot. There's a lot of uniqueness to each lineup, too, where there's a variety of ways they can get you.”

Vitello said the Vols know they will have to deal with a pitching staff that is red hot, starting with Prager tonight.

“But we'll have to go up against Prager. It will be the second time. And he's given a lot of people fits, either a lot of strikes out of him, but also gets guys to chase out of the zone a little bit,” he said. “Then you look at the guys who will be available afterwards -- or better yet look at the way they've gone to the bullpen in the postseason -- (Jim Schlossnagle)'s not afraid to go to the bullpen early because he knows he's got weapons down there.”

Path to the finals:

Beat Florida State 12-11, beat North Carolina 6-1, beat FSU 7-2

Projected lineup:

2B Christian Moore; .385, 33 HR, 73 RBI, 1.276 OPS; First team All-SEC, All-American

1B Blake Burke; .362, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 1.116 OPS; Second team All-SEC; All-American

3B Billy Amick; .313, 23 HR, 65 RBI, 1.055 OPS

LF Dylan Dreiling; .329, 20 HR, 68 RBI, 1.132 OPS; First team All-SEC

DH Hunter Ensley; .286, 11 HR, 46 RBI, .909 OPS

CF Kavares Tears; .329, 20 HR, 61 RBI, 1.098 OPS; Second team All-SEC

SS Dean Curley; 273, 12 HR, 48 RBI, .878 OPS

RF Reese Chapman; .276, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .926 OPS

C Cal Stark; .213, 10 HR, 28 RBI, .867 OPS

Getting the start:

LHP Chris Ramos; 3-0, 4.26 ERA, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 16 BB, 35 K

In the bullpen:

RHP Nate Snead; 10-2, 3.10 ERA, 5 saves, 72.2 IP, 69 H, 25 BB, 60 K

RHP AJ Causey; 13-3, 4.21 ERA, 1 save, 87.2 IP, 21 BB, 120 K

RHP Aaron Combs; 2-1, 3.32 ERA, 5 saves, 40.2 IP, 21 BB, 58 K

LHP Kirby Connell; 4-1, 3.76 ERA, 4 saves, 47.2 IP, 13 BB, 47 K

LHP Dylan Loy; 2-0, 2.25 ERA, 28 IP, 19 H, 10 BB, 33 K

LHP Andrew Behnke; 3-1, 3.08 ERA, 26.1 IP, 21 H, 8 BB, 37 K

Tennessee by the numbers:

Batting average: .311 (19th nationally)

Home runs: 178 (1st nationally)

Runs: 642 (1st nationally)

Walks: 371 (7th nationally)

Scoring: 9.2 runs per game (8th nationally)

Shutouts: 4 (25th nationally)

Strikeout to walk percentage: 3.30 (3rd nationally)

Strikeouts per 9 innings: 10 (23rd nationally)

Walks allowed per 9 innings: 3.04 (5th nationally)

ERA: 3.87 (6th nationally)

Schlossnagle knows that the ultimate test awaits the Aggies as they try to win their first national championship.

“Tennessee is far and away the best team I've seen outside of our team this year -- pitching, defense, so physical, so well-coached,” he said.

While the Vols’ pitching staff is nothing to dismiss, it’s their offense that draws the headlines – and with good reason. A&M has hit a program-record 133 home runs – and Tennessee has hit 45 more than that. Moore, an All-American, is one of the most complete hitters in the sport. He hit for the cycle in Tennessee’s opener against FSU, making him the first player to do that in the CWS since 1958.

The Vols have five players with more than 20 homers in their lineup. No other team in America had as many as four.

Tennessee has used Chris Ramos as an “opener”, and probably will again tonight. Vitello has no problem pulling the plug on him early, as he did against FSU. Tennessee has plenty of quality arms in the bullpen they can go to, with Snead being their stopper. Like the Aggies, they don’t give up many walks and pound the strike zone. The Vols are about as complete a team as it gets, and a worthy opponent in the finals of the CWS.