Leadoff spot could hold key to winner of Arkansas, Tennessee

Arkansas' Charles Davalan and Tennessee's Gavin Kilen don't garner much of the national headlines on their respective teams.

After all, each team has a Golden Spikes Award finalist. Shortstop Wehiwa Aloy has 20 homers on the year is SEC Player of the Year.

Liam Doyle set a new single-season program record with 158 strikeouts and was the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

Part of what makes the series so interesting is the depth of both lineups, not just a potential matchup of two potential first-round draft picks in Aloy and Doyle.

Both teams possess depth and power up and down the order.

Arkansas and Tennessee combine for 246 homers, more than 50 ahead of any other Super Regional matchup. The No. 8 and No. 9 matchup between Oregon State and Florida State is next closest with 194.

The Razorbacks would have a power advantage against all other 14 teams left in the field, but they are matched up against the one team that can hang with them in the power department.

It's the first time in coach Dave Van Horn's tenure that seven different players have at least 10 homers.

The bad news for the Razorbacks is that Tennessee and coach Tony Vitello counters with eight in their lineup, including the SEC leader in homers, first baseman Andrew Fischer with 24.

Both teams will be given prime conditions to hit as many homers as they can. When the two teams met in a three game series in the regular season, the two teams combined for 11 homers.

Tennessee hit six and the Razorbacks hit five.

The first two games of the series are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. and 2 p.m. local time, with plenty of sunshine slated for Sunday's game, producing ideal conditions for the ball to carry at Baum-Walker Stadium.

That's why for all the star power that often overlooks the two players in the leadoff spot, Kilen and Davalan's ability to get on base and set the table for a plethora of power hitters behind them could be the difference in the series, turning solo shots into multi-homer blasts.

"You hit it out of the park," coach Dave Van Horn said after the Regional Final where his team scored seven of its eight runs on homers. "You score quick and that's what we did tonight,"

Both teams featured a three-run homer in their regional clinching win, ironically both from guys with the fewest number of homers this year out of the No. 9 spot in the order.

Center fielder Justin Thomas Jr, hit his ninth of the year for Arkansas in an 8-3 win, while Tennessee third baseman Manny Marin hit just his third of the season in an 11-5 win over Wake Forest.

Both Kilen and Davalan are already top 75 MLB.com prospects and power threats in their own right. Kilen has 15 homers on the year, while Davalan has 13.