Vols Sweep Defending National Champion LSU (UT Athletics)
A big day at the plate from Christian Moore and a solid group effort from the pitching staff led No. 4/4 Tennessee to an 8-4 victory over No. 25/NR LSU on Sunday afternoon in front of another capacity crowd at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, completing the series sweep against the Tigers.
The win was the eighth straight for the Volunteers over the Bayou Bengals in Knoxville, including the second consecutive regular-season sweep (2021).
Moore drove in half of Tennessee's runs with a pair of homers, moving him into a tie with Blake Burke atop the Vols' career home run list with 42 for his career.
Burke also hit his 42nd career long ball on Sunday, opening the scoring with a two-run shot into the porches in the third inning. The junior first baseman added to his SEC-leading doubles total, as well, hammering an 0-0 pitch off the wall in right center in the seventh inning.
Zander Sechrist gave UT another solid start on the mound despite receiving a no-decision. The senior lefty had five strikeouts, scattered six hits and allowed two runs in 5.2 innings of work before handing the ball off to the bullpen.
Andrew Behnke and Kirby Connell combined for 1.1 innings before Aaron Combs slammed the door with two spotless innings to close the game and earn his first-career save. Behnke struck out the only batter he faced but was credited with his first-career win.
Moore's first home run of the day, a solo blast to left field in the bottom of the sixth, broke a 2-2 tie after LSU had just pulled even with a run in the top of the inning.
The Vols (30-6, 10-5 SEC) added five runs over the next two innings to give themselves some breathing room. Moore's second round tripper turned out the be the game-winning hit, as he sent a 2-2 pitch from Tigers' reliever Gavin Guidry into the second deck of the porches to plate three more runs for the Big Orange.
After Tommy White cut LSU's deficit in half with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth, a Cal Stark bloop double in the bottom of the inning tacked on two more insurance runs for UT and rounded out the scoring for the game.
The Tigers (22-15, 3-12 SEC) went quietly in the ninth, as Combs retired the side in order to finish off the Vols' first SEC series sweep this year.
STAT OF THE GAME: Tennessee has now swept 14 SEC regular-season series during head coach Tony Vitello's seven years as head coach after posting just two series sweeps in conference play from 2012-17.
UP NEXT: The Vols host Bellarmine on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before hitting the road for a weekend series at No. 8/8 Kentucky next weekend, which will feature the top two teams in the eastern division standings.