Tennessee is getting a big piece of the puzzle back on Friday afternoon, just in time to open the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers, the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, will have Reese Chapman available and ready to go after a scary situation last week in Hoover.
Chapman is finishing up a big senior season, hitting .316 on the year with ten home runs and 44 RBIs. The 6-1, 222 pound right fielder took a line drive to the face during a practice session last week, which forced him to return to Knoxville
and miss Tennessee’s two SEC Tournament games.
Josh Elander told reporters that Chapman is ready to go ahead of this weekend.
Tennessee will open with East Carolina on Friday at noon ET on ESPNU. The Volunteers are paired up with No. 5 national seed North Carolina as the host team, which will play the A-10 champions VCU later on Friday. The winners will advance to play on Saturday, while the losers will go to an elimination game.
Chapman has been a big part of Tennessee’s offensive surge to close the year, cranking two home runs in a game against Texas and notching four hits in the finale against Oklahoma.
