KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — After a dramatic comeback to seal a series sweep against Florida, the top-ranked Tennessee baseball team added another historic accolade to the growing list of accomplishments this season.
Freshman outfielder Christian Moore’s game-tying single in the bottom of the ninth with two outs in Sunday’s series finale with Florida before crushing the game-winning home run in extra innings improved the Volunteers season record to 37-3.
The win also saw Tennessee improve to 17-1 in SEC play, the best start in conference history. The only other team to start 16-1 was the 1951 Vols.
Tennessee swept Florida in Gainesville for the first time since 2001 and their third on the road at Florida in program history.
Sunday’s comeback victory saw the Vols set a new program record for most series sweeps in a single season with eight, besting the previous record of seven set by the 1994 SEC Championship team that featured five-time MLB All-Star Todd Helton and 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey. The Vols will have a chance to extend the record with series against Auburn, Kentucky, Georgia and Mississippi State still to be played.
The Volunteers return to Knoxville for five consecutive home games beginning Tuesday against Xavier. The game will see head coach Tony Vitello return to the dugout after serving a four-game suspension for making contact with an umpire. The team will play a 3-game weekend home series against Auburn and host Alabama A&M before hitting the road again for a series against Kentucky.
