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Tennessee's baseball team proved it could surprise people in the friendly confines of Lindsey Nelson Stadium with a sweep last weekend of LSU.

Road games are a different animal in the SEC - just ask LSU.

Tennessee (13-5, 3-0 SEC) gets its first chance to hit the road within the conference to take on Georgia (10-7, 2-1 SEC) for a three-game series in Athens beginning at 7 tonight (TV: CSS).

"It'll be a challenge going on the road for the first time in the SEC," first-year UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "This is going to be a learning experience for all of us."

The Vols have had mixed success on the road already this week, losing Tuesday at Lipscomb 6-4 and rallying for a 7-6 win at Louisville on Wednesday.

"Georgia's got a great club," Raleigh said. "They've played a great preseason schedule, have great pitching and one of the top players in the country at shortstop."

The Bulldogs' shortstop is Gordon Beckham, a junior who is tearing it up to the tune of a .513 batting average with 11 home runs and 27 RBIs.

As has been the pattern all season, the Vols hope to get strong weekend pitching from Steve Crnkovich, Bryan Morgado and Nick Hernandez.

They'll need it Georgia is hitting .325 as a team and ranks tied for second in the SEC with 31 home runs. By comparison, UT is hitting .280 with 14 home runs.

"Beating Louisville was huge for us because this is a young team and we're fragile," Raleigh said. "Last year, they had no out of conference road wins of any significance. Zero.

"We've already got two wins against Texas and Louisville and those really help. The (NCAA) selection committee will look at that big time."

While the Vols are still light years away from worrying about securing an NCAA Regional berth, road trips like this one are key testing grounds.

One player who continues to pass the test is freshman centerfielder Kentrail Davis - leading the Vols with his .463 average and four home runs.

"He wows us," Raleigh said. "He's the best freshman I've ever coached. He had two home runs against Louisville and the third time up he went opposite way for a double off the wall. He was almost 3-for-3 with three jacks.

"He brings the fight every day and that's rare to see in a freshman. He's in a different league than the rest of us."

Notebook: Jarred Frazier continues to campaign for more playing time after hitting a clutch two-run homer against Louisville. He's hitting .375 in five starts with two homers. "He gives us a little pop at the bottom of our lineup, which we need," Raleigh said.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.