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Todd Raleigh isn't having visions of an NCAA tournament berth just yet.

Tennessee's first-year baseball coach just wants to make it through the next two weekends at Arkansas and Mississippi State without losing surprising SEC momentum.

"It's going to be real important," Raleigh said with the Vols scheduled to begin a three-game series at Arkansas beginning 7:35 tonight. "You think you're sitting pretty good right now at 9-6 (SEC) and it's all bunched up, but in the blink of an eye we could be 9-9 real quick.

"Then we go on the road next week to Mississippi State, a team getting healthier by the minute. It's important."

Tennessee (22-14, 9-6 SEC) is tied for second place in the SEC Eastern division. Arkansas (20-16, 5-9) is a half game out of second place in a bottled up Western Division.

"All the veteran coaches say take care of business at home and don't get swept on the road," Raleigh said. "That's all I hear. It's a common theme."

At least right now, the Vols have put themselves in a position to make the eight-team SEC tournament next month in Hoover, Ala.

That doesn't mean a thing in Raleigh's world. He said he hasn't even looked up UT's RPI (ratings percentage index), a key barometer for making the NCAA tournament.

For the record, a couple of national RPI services place the Vols somewhere between No. 55 and No. 58 heading into this weekend.

"We're trying to tell these guys every game is important," Raleigh said. "People always say in the SEC if you make the (SEC) tournament, you're in (the NCAA tournament). That's not necessarily true."

Tennessee found that out the hard way just one year ago.

Veteran Know-How: In SEC play, sophomore catcher Yan Gomes is hitting a team-leading .391 with four home runs and 16 RBIs. Sophomore Jeff Lockwood is at .333 with three homers and 14 RBIs. Senior Shawn Griffin (.327, five HRs, 12 RBIs) and senior Andy Simunic (.323) also have strong SEC numbers.

Freshman Kentrail Davis. UT's overall leading hitter, is batting .298 with three HRs and 15 RBIs in league play.

Junior third baseman Cody Brown is hitting .190 in the SEC with one HR and four RBIs.

Forsythe Reunion: UT freshman catcher Blake Forsythe gets a chance to get reacquainted with his older brother Logan this weekend.

Logan , a junior third baseman at Arkansas, is hitting .320 in 29 starts.

Walk-on Chance, Part II: UT pitching coach Fred Corral spent Wednesday afternoon looking for another pitcher to join the Vols.

UT had open walk-on tryouts for students last fall and recent pitching injuries forced coaches to consider giving at least one of those guys another shot.

"Maybe we'll have him join our team," Raleigh said. "That's no joke. That's how low we are right now."

Delmonico Update: Former Vol and Farragut High School star Tony Delmonico is liking his new home.

Delmonico is hitting .370 with six home runs and 42 RBIs playing shortstop for No. 1-ranked Florida State (33-3). Former UT coach Rod Demonico is a volunteer assistant for the Seminoles.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.