Pretty easy drive today all in all.... Got to listen to most of the basketball game between AM 750 and iTunes... Pulled up just as the thing was coming to a close. Sounded like a game effort with a few too many mistakes. I guess that's how you could characterize the last tourney loss back in 2011. That was one of the many memories that I have from that season... We beat Michael Roth and South Carolina in Columbia (for what was then, and still is, our only win in their new stadium).... For the second Friday night in a row we'd gone on the road and beaten one of the nation's elite starters and one of the participants in the previous year's national title series. After living through the 2010 season, those wins in '11 were special... very special. I was on cloud nine leaving Carolina Stadium that Friday night and was able to get myself somewhere, a Chili's I think, to watch the Dawgs in the tournament against Washington.
Later that season we would come up here, lose a tough extra innings deal on Friday night, and rebound to win the final two games of the series. For a long time, that stood as our last road series win. When we came back in '13 later in the year, it was two teams who were basically playing out the string. The one game that the weather allowed us to play was wildly entertaining with Jarrett Brown picking a runner off third, attempting to steal home, for the final out of the game. The drive back from Knoxville has been good each of the last two times, although the this Tennessee team is much better than their 2011 or 2013 group. We swept these guys in 2009. It's been since 2007 that they've won a series from us up here. And we won the last two series in Athens too.... so just from a purely historical standpoint, we've had a lot of success against Tennessee ever since they fired Delmonico. Maybe that has a bearing on this weekend and maybe not. I don't think any of our players are going to be intimidated by their logo or anything like that, and Lindsey Nelson Stadium isn't THAT tough of a place to play... it's certainly not in the league of LSU or South Carolina in that regard.
It's been said a number of times this week and it bears repeating that this is a pivotal series for us. Not just for this season, but for Scott Stricklin and the program as a whole. I thought about that a number of times on the drive up here.... This really seems like a "fork in the road" type of deal. It's cool and overcast up here, but I think the rain is gone and we should be good to play. This series won't get a lot of attention nationally. I highly doubt that tonight will approach a sellout. It seems like an odd choice to throw down the proverbial gauntlet and "make a statement".... but it is. I'd imagine that the team bus will be leaving the hotel in 15 minutes or so. I have no idea what the "temperature" is right now.... But I really, really think that we're going to play some good baseball up here this weekend. We'll find out in 50 hours or so for sure, but I think we're going to see the collective A-game this weekend. I also think that we're going to see Tennessee's.... I'm looking forward to a very competitive series and sitting here now, I love our chances up here.
Later that season we would come up here, lose a tough extra innings deal on Friday night, and rebound to win the final two games of the series. For a long time, that stood as our last road series win. When we came back in '13 later in the year, it was two teams who were basically playing out the string. The one game that the weather allowed us to play was wildly entertaining with Jarrett Brown picking a runner off third, attempting to steal home, for the final out of the game. The drive back from Knoxville has been good each of the last two times, although the this Tennessee team is much better than their 2011 or 2013 group. We swept these guys in 2009. It's been since 2007 that they've won a series from us up here. And we won the last two series in Athens too.... so just from a purely historical standpoint, we've had a lot of success against Tennessee ever since they fired Delmonico. Maybe that has a bearing on this weekend and maybe not. I don't think any of our players are going to be intimidated by their logo or anything like that, and Lindsey Nelson Stadium isn't THAT tough of a place to play... it's certainly not in the league of LSU or South Carolina in that regard.
It's been said a number of times this week and it bears repeating that this is a pivotal series for us. Not just for this season, but for Scott Stricklin and the program as a whole. I thought about that a number of times on the drive up here.... This really seems like a "fork in the road" type of deal. It's cool and overcast up here, but I think the rain is gone and we should be good to play. This series won't get a lot of attention nationally. I highly doubt that tonight will approach a sellout. It seems like an odd choice to throw down the proverbial gauntlet and "make a statement".... but it is. I'd imagine that the team bus will be leaving the hotel in 15 minutes or so. I have no idea what the "temperature" is right now.... But I really, really think that we're going to play some good baseball up here this weekend. We'll find out in 50 hours or so for sure, but I think we're going to see the collective A-game this weekend. I also think that we're going to see Tennessee's.... I'm looking forward to a very competitive series and sitting here now, I love our chances up here.
