Game 1 between No. 8 Tennessee and No. 3 Alabama was delayed again Friday, with first pitch at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium pushed to 7:30 p.m. ET on April 25. The SEC Network+ game had originally been set for 4 p.m. ET before rain forced a three-hour delay to 7 p.m., then a second adjustment when wet weather still threatened the area around the revised start.
The matchup puts two of the best teams in the country on the same field. Tennessee entered at 38-7 overall and 12-6 in SEC play, while Alabama arrived at 43-4 and 15-3 in the league. The Vols led the nation with a 1.20 ERA, and Alabama was No. 3 nationally at 1.62, setting up a night where every pitch could matter.
That edge on the mound is even sharper in the numbers behind the aces. Tennessee ranked No. 1 in the country in hits allowed per seven innings at 3.15, and Alabama was No. 2 at 4.17. Karlyn Pickens had logged 95 innings pitched with a 1.40 ERA and 126 strikeouts, while Jocelyn Briski was 18-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 141 strikeouts.
Both teams also arrived with momentum from the SEC calendar. Tennessee had just swept Kentucky after a weekend off from league play, and Alabama swept Kentucky the previous weekend. The delay only adds another layer to a series already shaped by timing, weather and two staffs that have spent the spring shutting hitters down.
When the game finally begins, the first challenge will not be the opponent. It will be the air itself, after two weather delays tried to move the night off its schedule before a pitch was thrown.