Vols draw tough season opener

Tennessee’s baseball team is out to prove it belongs with the big boys, and it has a perfect chance to do so this weekend.

The Vols open the season today against 2006 and 2007 NCAA champion Oregon State at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch of the three-game series is 4 p.m.

“I think this is the premier series in the country this weekend,” second-year UT coach Todd Raleigh said. “That’s what we wanted. We wanted to send the message to our players when we got the job here that this is what we’re going to do. You also want to send it to recruits and everybody else, (that), ‘Hey, the bar’s going to be set high and this is what we’ve got to do.’ ”

UT and Oregon State each missed making the NCAA tournament last year. Neither has that in its plans for 2009.

Oregon State was 28-24 overall and finished in a three-way tie for sixth in the Pac-10 with an 11-13 record. UT was 27-29 and finished sixth in the SEC East Division with a 12-18 record.

Raleigh and the Vols have put 2008 behind them and are ready to go again.

“We’re excited,” he said. “It’s been practice, practice, practice. We needed this practice, no question about it, but it will be good to see somebody in a different colored uniform. It’s not exactly a gimme, but I’m excited about the season and opening weekend. I’m excited about having a lot more options this year and taking this program to another level and watching it build.”

Oregon State brings a lot more star power than Morehead State, last year’s opponent in the season-opening series. The Vols won two of three against Morehead State.

Oregon State is ranked in the top 40 in four of the five major preseason polls, the highest at No. 24 by Rivals.com and No. 25 by Baseball America.

“It’s a challenge and it’s exciting at the same time,” said UT designated hitter/pitcher Jeff Lockwood, former Halls High player. “We’re up for the challenge. We’ve worked really hard in the fall and preseason. We’re going to go out there and bust our butts and try to win two out of three or get the sweep.”

Junior left-hander Nick Hernandez is expected to start for the Vols against sophomore left-hander Tanner Robles.

Hernandez led the Vols in innings last year (832⁄3), and his 13 starts was tied for team-high with Bryan Morgado.

Morgado, a sophomore right-hander and Saturday’s projected starter, led the Vols in strikeouts (104), while Hernandez was second (63).

“Bryan certainly can be electric, but I like Nick’s maturity for that first game,” Raleigh said. “I mean, talent-wise, they’re real close. You could argue which one to go with. I feel Nick gets us deeper into games and allows us to use our bullpen a lot less. Bryan has a tendency to get his pitch count up.”

Hernandez pitched in the Cape Cod Summer League last summer, during which he faced Oregon State catcher Ryan Ortiz and infielder Joey Wong.

Ortiz was chosen to the All-Pac-10 first team last year and is on Baseball America’s Preseason All-America third team.

Hernandez knows the Vols can make a statement this weekend.

“We know what we have to do to beat them,” Hernandez said. “In order for us to be an elite program, we’ve got to beat elite teams. Coach Raleigh did a great job scheduling tough opponents for us this year and we feel our schedule is one of the better schedules in the country. Oregon State will be a good test for us.”