KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee baseball advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round with a 12-3 victory against Southern Miss in the Knoxville Regional Final inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Sunday night.
It was a quick first inning for the Vols. Christian Moore struck out, and Southern Miss executed a double play to end the inning.
Tennessee responded with a 1-2-3 inning that ended with an impressive line drive snatch from Christian Moore.
The bases started loading for the Vols in the second. Dylan Dreiling hit a deep fly ball down the left field line to reach second. Hunter Ensley then singled up the middle to score Dreiling for the first run of the game.
Tennessee starting pitcher Zander Sechrist led the Vols to another 1-2-3 inning to keep Southern Miss scoreless in the second.
The Golden Eagles tied things up in the bottom of the third off a Tennessee throwing error at first base to make it a 1-1 game. However, UT got out of a jam with two on and two outs when Southern Miss popped out to a shortstop.
Sechrist pitched another impressive inning to end the frame, and with Tennessee back up to bat in the fourth, the bases loaded up fast with a new pitcher on the mound. However, Dalton Bargo struck out to end the inning. The score remained 1-1.
Sechrist took a scary hit on the leg off a line drive and was down for a few minutes before standing back up to finish the inning. When play resumed, he struck Southern Miss’ next batter out, and Tennessee closed out the inning with a double play.
In the fifth inning, Cal Stark hit his second homer of regional play to put Tennessee back in the lead. Head Coach Tony Vitello was being interviewed when it happened and had a thrilling reaction.
A two-run deep double from USM put the Golden Eagles in the lead, 3-2, in the fifth inning. Nate Snead entered the game in relief for the Vols to close out the frame without giving up any more runs.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Vols gained back a lot of momentum with a game-changing three-run home run from Kavares Tears to take back the lead, 5-3. His big swing flew 387 feet out of Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee got runners on first and second in the same inning before USM switched up pitchers for a second time. However, Christian Moore grounded out to plate Dean Curly and secured another run in the sixth to make it a three-run game.
The Vols continued to find success in the seventh. Dylan Dreiling hit a solo home run to widen the gap. Tears walked to first in the same inning, forcing USM to bring in it’s fourth pitcher of the night.
And if that wasn't enough, Dean Curly knocked out a two-run homer, which tied the program's single-season home run record and made the game 9-3.
Cal Stark put the exclamation mark on the game with a record-setting 159th home run of the season, and his second of the game, to make it 12-3 Tennessee and put the game way out of reach for Southern Miss.
Tennessee will await a Monday rubber match between East Carolina and Evansville to determine who the Vols will play in the NCAA Super Regional. The Pirates kept their season alive with a victory against Evansville in the Greenville Regional on Sunday night.
