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Todd Raleigh awaits his first game as Tennessee coach today.

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There's a something-to-prove dynamic circulating around the University of Tennessee baseball team these days.

First-year coach Todd Raleigh wants to prove he can turn the Vols into a tough-minded, consistent contender for SEC championships.

UT players want to prove they're not as bad this year as SEC coaches are predicting.

Step one begins 3 p.m. today as Tennessee is scheduled to open the 2008 season with a three-game series against Morehead State at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Hovering like a cloud over the Vols' is a predicted last-place finish in the SEC East by league coaches.

"I've never been on a team picked to finish last in the conference - ever," sophomore first baseman Jeff Lockwood said. "It's kind of a gut-check for everybody on the team.

"The older guys are just telling the younger guys you can't pay attention to stuff like that. You have to go out there and expect to win and execute."

Team captains Cody Brown and Danny Lima are hoping to use the apparent lack of respect to their advantage.

"We're going to step on the field and no one's going to expect anything out of us," Brown said. "We expect a lot more from ourselves than others are expecting out of us.

"It's kind of a benefit to us because we want to prove we can play and we're not afraid to play anybody."

A blue-collar approach has been the theme from day one of the Raleigh era. He preaches dirt and sweat, not individual acclaim.

Play hard or take a seat on the bench has been his message.

"It's a new look and I think it's going to be a different style of baseball," senior second baseman Andy Simunic said. "We definitely don't have the three first rounders this year, and I think this is going to be more of a hard-working, blue-collar team.

"It's never good to not be ranked, but I don't see it as a problem. I think a lot of us are looking at it like we've got something to prove, and I think we're going to surprise some people."

They'll just have to do the surprising with a completely revamped pitching staff and the possibility of three true freshmen starting in the outfield.

In the outfield, Raleigh is expected to pencil Kentrail Davis, Josh Liles and P.J. Polk into the lineup for their first collegiate starts.

Experience comes in an infield made up of Brown (3B), Lima (SS), Simunic (2B), Lockwood (1B) and Yan Gomes (C).

"It's just one of those things that will take some time," Brown said of putting all the pieces in place. "I love the work ethic on this team.

"We needed that because we would get lackadaisical at times (last year). Now it's hard work every single day and we know it's going to pay off for us down the road."

Weather Permitting: If all the Doppler radars are right, things don't look promising today (70 percent chance of rain).

Tidbits: Freshman pitcher Dylan Hochevar, younger brother of former Vol Luke Hochevar, will be redshirted after undergoing surgery in October ... This is the 99th season of UT varsity baseball ... Renovations continue at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, but school officials said the first phase will be complete in time for the meat of the SEC schedule.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.