Tennessee baseball makes a huge statement for Selection Monday over the weekend
Yes, it's true that Selection Monday – the day in late May when the NCAA tournament seeds are announced – is still a good ways away. However, the Vols pulled off something over the weekend that should go a long way towards that day being a very good one for Tennessee. Tennessee came back after dropping […]
Yes, it's true that Selection Monday – the day in late May when the NCAA tournament seeds are announced – is still a good ways away. However, the Vols pulled off something over the weekend that should go a long way towards that day being a very good one for Tennessee.
Tennessee came back after dropping the series opener at #3 Kentucky on Friday night 5-3 to claim the series. After a slow start on offense, the Vols' offense exploded the rest of the series.
It started off on Saturday in the very first inning. Tennessee posted five runs with back-to-back homers and back-to-back-to-back doubles before an out was even recorded by Kentucky. Tennessee led 6-2 after two innings and managed to keep Kentucky at grand slam distance the rest of the way in a 9-4 win. That gave Tennessee a shot at claiming a massive series win on Sunday.
Early on, it didn't look like that was in the cards for the Vols. After taking a 2-0 lead on the first of three Christian Moore home runs of the game, the wheels fell off in the fourth inning for UT. A solo home run and two hit batsmen by Vols starting pitcher Zander Sechrist set the stage for Kentucky to drive in four runs and take a 5-2 lead, which they'd stretch to 6-2 the next inning.
However, instead of folding, the Vols responded with 5 runs in the top of the sixth inning to reclaim the lead 7-6. After Kentucky stole it back in the bottom of the inning, the Vols took the lead back for good again at 10-8 with home runs by Moore and Kavares Tears. A three-run shot by Moore in the eighth inning would provide the winning runs for Tennessee in a 13-11 final score.
Coming into the weekend, Kentucky was an SEC-leading 15-1 in the SEC and ranked #3 in the country. It goes without question that the Vols going on the road and winning two of three, particularly after dropping the series opener, should be one of the biggest feathers in the cap of any team when the tournament field is eventually completed.
Tennessee still has plenty of work to do to get there. Road trips at Florida and Vanderbilt and a home series against South Carolina will all be significant challenges. However, if the Vols can continue to slug the way they have, they should find themselves in position to potentially play all of their tournament games at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on the road to the College World Series.
Sunday in Lexington helped that become a distinct possibility.
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