Who does Tennessee play in the first round of the College World Series? Placing the LSU baseball roster under the microscope

The Tennessee Volunteers have been able to continue their season through the super regionals and now make a trip to the College World Series. They were able to bounce back after a first-game loss to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in their super regional, winning the final two games to reach the CWS.

In Omaha, Nebraska, they will face the LSU Tigers. These teams played at the end of March in Baton Rouge, with the Tigers winning two of three games.

What should the Tennessee Volunteers expect out of the LSU Tigers? Let's take a deeper dive into this game.

How will Tennessee fare against the LSU Tigers' pitching staff?

During their regular season, the Tennessee Volunteers scored 20 runs against LSU over that three-game span. The Tigers are not a dominant pitching program but are still solid as they rank 37th in the nation with a 4.54 ERA.

Paul Skenes is going to be on the mound and had a dominant start in the super regional against the Kentucky Wildcats. In the game, he finished with 7.2 shutout innings and allowed just four hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. He is now second in the nation as only Little Rock's senior pitcher Jackson Wells (1.65 ERA) is ahead of him.

It'll be difficult for the Tennessee lineup to hit off Skenes, the Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year. The Vols need to work on getting to the bullpen in the game for their chance of success to increase.

How will the Tennessee pitchers be able to do against the LSU lineup?

The pitching staff is going to have to figure out a way to keep the ball in the park. LSU is second in the country with 133 home runs as well as leading the nation with 588 total runs (9.33 per game).

This lineup is led by junior center fielder Dylan Crews. He has been an incredible talent both in the field and in the batter's box. He has a .433 batting average, .570 on base percentage and .732 slugging percentage. He has been crushing it with 17 home runs, 64 RBIs, 89 runs and six stolen bases without being caught.

Shutting him down, as he is the leadoff hitter, is going to be critical. However, that's hard to see happening, and LSU should dominate.