KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time since 2005, Tennessee baseball is feeling super. The Vols win the Knoxville Regional and advance to Super Regional play after beating Liberty 3-1 on Sunday.
UT's game against Liberty on Sunday was significantly different than the matchup on Saturday, a defensive contest instead of a home run derby. Max Ferguson got on base with a long leftfield double with two outs in the bottom of the third, and Jake Rucker brought him home with a single up the middle.
While runs weren't flying out of the ballpark on Sunday, a home run did make the difference in this contest. Drew Gilbert homered for the third time in the Knoxville Regional, a two-run shot in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Liberty was able to get on board in the top of the sixth, but it wasn't enough, Tennessee comes out on top 3-1.
Starting pitcher Will Heflin played well on Sunday, striking out eight and giving up just one run in 5.1 innings. This is just the third time Tennessee has advanced to the Super Regional in program history since the format was adopted in 1999.