After staring elimination in the face, Tennessee extended its season by rattling off eight unanswered runs to beat Southern Mississippi in Game 2 of the Hattiesburg Super Regionals.
Tennessee will look to advance to Omaha, Nebraska as big favorites in Game 3, but can Southern Mississippi's pitching staff find ways to limit the Vols explosive offense?
Here are the odds for the decisive matchup on Monday night:
Southern Mississippi vs. Tennessee odds, run line and total
Southern Mississippi vs. Tennessee prediction and pick
After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, Southern Mississippi couldn't keep down the Vols offense that plated six runs in the following half inning and put the clamps on the Golden Eagles offense, eventually winning 8-4.
It's an ominous sign for the hosts that its ace Tanner Hall got shelled by Tennessee, allowing six earned runs (seven total) on six hits while the Vols were able to preserve much of its bullpen with a standout performance from Chase Dollander, who pitched eight innings despite the one poor inning.
Tennessee's pitching staff has been elite all season, top five in ERA and WHIP during the regular season and has depth to hold up over a three game series. While Southern Mississippi checks in as one of the best mid-major programs, the team is out-manned on offense, 92nd in on-base percentage and 96th in slugging percentage.
Ultimately, I believe Tennessee's depth has the talent to overpower Southern Miss in the final meeting and win this one by margin. I won't recommend the -200 moneyline, but I do think it's worthwhile to take the cheaper price on the Vols on the run line given that Southern Miss struggled to limit a blowup inning and had four errors in Sunday's loss after being outside the top 100 in fielding percentage during the regular season.
Tennessee's offense is too much for Southern Miss. to overcome and the team can't make up for it on defense. Vols win big on Monday night to get to the College World Series.
