Riding a wave of momentum from 10 wins in its last 15 ballgames, Appalachian State University baseball travels to face one of college baseball's most tradition-laden programs on Tuesday before beginning a five-game homestand on Wednesday. Appalachian plays at Tennessee on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and hosts Gardner-Webb on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.

Appalachian (18-15, 6-9 SoCon) is coming off its second-consecutive Southern Conference series victory, winning 2-of-3 games at Furman this past weekend. ASU rebounded from one of its most devastating losses of the year on Friday, a 3-2 defeat that saw the Mountaineers squander a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning, to sweep the final two games of the weekend set by scores of 10-2 and 3-2.

The series victory upped ASU to an amazing 40-6 in the month of April since 2009. That record includes a 9-7 triumph at Tennessee on April 7, 2009. The '09 victory at UT, which ironically came just two days after the Mountaineers rallied from a Friday loss to take the final two games of a weekend series at Furman, was Appalachian's first over the Vols since 1990.

Despite topping UT the last time the two clubs met, ASU still trails in the all-time series with Tennessee, 11-3. However, Appalachian has enjoyed modest success against the Southeastern Conference the past three seasons, with a 2-2 mark against SEC opponents since 2008.

Unlike the surging Mountaineers, Tennessee (19-13, 2-10 SEC) stumbles into the mid-week affair with a seven-game losing streak. In the Vols defense, six of the seven losses have come at the hands of No. 3 South Carolina and No. 4 Florida. However, UT's other loss during the stretch was a 10-6 home setback at the hands of Presbyterian last Tuesday in Knoxville.

Despite the loss to PC, Tennessee boasts a 17-3 record versus non-conference competition and is 16-8 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium this season.

Freshman Lawrence Pardo (1-3) will take the mound for the Mountaineers on Tuesday at UT, looking to add a second victory over a college-baseball blue blood to his resume. On Feb. 25, the southpaw held No. 20 Miami (Fla.) without an earned run over six innings to earn his first career victory. Should he record his second win against Tennessee on Tuesday, his first two collegiate triumphs will have come against programs that have combined to make 27 College World Series appearances.

After the Mountaineers wrap up a five-game road trip on Tuesday at UT, they return to the High Country to open a five-game homestand versus Gardner-Webb on Wednesday. Wednesday's game is a makeup of a contest that was rained out on April 30.

Gardner-Webb comes into the week with an impressive 19-9-1 overall record, including a 13-3-1 mark in non-conference tilts. One of the Runnin' Bulldogs' three non-conference losses came at the hands of Appalachian, which blanked GWU, 7-0, on Feb. 22 in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Following the mid-week tilts, ASU continues its five-game homestand this weekend when it hosts a pivotal three-game SoCon series versus third-place Samford (21-13, 9-6 SoCon). Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at Smith Stadium.