Belmont at Tennessee

AP Sports Preview

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — Tennessee hosts Belmont on Tuesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, with the Volunteers (34-18) looking to bounce back from a series loss to Texas while the Bruins (19-32) seek a road upset.

First pitch is set for 6 p.m. EDT under cloudy skies and 70 degrees.

Tennessee’s offense has been potent, led by right fielder Reese Chapman. In Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Longhorns, Chapman went 2 for 4 with two home runs and six RBIs. Over his past four games, he has three homers and 10 RBIs. The Volunteers took two of three from Texas, winning 14-9 on Saturday and 5-1 on Friday before Sunday’s defeat.

Belmont counters with right-hander Ridge Harvey, who threw 4 1/3 innings of relief Sunday in a 13-4 loss to Southern Illinois, allowing four hits and one earned run with three strikeouts. Harvey’s best outing this season came April 18 against Evansville, when he threw seven shutout innings with 13 strikeouts in an 11-7 win.

The Bruins dropped three straight to Southern Illinois over the weekend, falling 9-4 on Saturday and 8-3 on Friday. Belmont’s last win came May 3, a 12-11 victory over Bradley. The Bruins are 4-6 in their past 10 games.

Tennessee’s pitching staff has been solid. Chandler Day tossed three innings of relief Sunday, allowing two earned runs, while Bo Rhudy worked two innings of one-run ball. The Volunteers have won four of their past six.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 7-5 Tennessee victory.

Belmont will travel to Indiana State for a three-game series starting Thursday. Tennessee heads to Oklahoma City for a three-game set against Oklahoma, also beginning Thursday.

Key matchup: Chapman’s hot bat against Harvey’s ability to limit damage. Harvey has not allowed an earned run in his past two appearances covering 5 1/3 innings.

Belmont’s Landon Godsey went 3 for 5 with an RBI on Sunday. For Tennessee, Chapman has hit safely in six of his past eight games with five home runs in that span.

The Volunteers lead the all-time series, though the teams have not met since 2022.