Inconsistency continues to plague Tennessee baseball

HOOVER, AL - MAY 25: Tennessee Volunteers infielder Ariel Antigua (2) during the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Vanderbilt Commodores on May 25, 2024 at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

If there’s one word that can be best used to describe Tennessee baseball in 2026, it has to be “inconsistent.”

The Vols seem to take one step forward and two steps back consistently. They’ll have a great series and you feel like things are finally clicking, just for the next series to be a complete letdown. We’ve gotten stuck in this cycle multiple times recently.

Let’s go back to April. The Vols went down to Starkville and swept the Mississippi State Bulldogs. That series is still one of the most impressive series wins in college baseball this season. The following week, the Vols went back home to welcome in the other Mississippi team, the Ole Miss Rebels.

Unfortunately, that series couldn’t have been more opposite than the Mississippi State series. The Vols lost the first two games and won the finale on Sunday. Then, the next series, the Vols looked like world-beaters again, taking two of three from Alabama.

And then, that took us to the most recent series against Kentucky. And if you’re following along, you can guess how it went- not great.

In the first two games this past weekend, the Vols were outscored 21-4 and obviously lost both. They were able to win by one run on Sunday to avoid a sweep, but it’s hard to come away with a positive feeling regardless. This is the same cycle that has been in place for much of the season, and at this point, it just seems like this is who the team is.