The Tennessee Volunteers were the top overall seed in the 2022 NCAA baseball tournament, and they advanced in last year's College World Series before getting eliminated by eventual national champion LSU.
Yet the Vols lost to Tennessee Tech in each of those seasons, but not Tuesday night.
Fresh off a No. 5 ranking in the latest D1 Baseball poll, Tennessee made sure there would not be a third consecutive upset loss to the Golden Eagles by administering an 11-1 thumping that required just seven innings inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols blew things open with a six-run fifth inning that included Blake Burke's two-run home run to right-center field and Reese Chapman's three-run homer to right.
"My confidence is building, and I'm really just going out and playing now," Chapman said in a news conference after the sophomore outfielder's 4-for-4 night. "I know what I can do, and I'm just going to trust that."
The Vols improved to 22-4 overall and are now 19-1 in nonconference contests, losing only to Oklahoma on Feb. 17.
Tennessee lost to Tennessee Tech 3-2 two seasons ago at Smokies Park in a matchup in which the teams used wooden bats. That setback for the Vols ended a 23-game winning streak, the longest in program history.
Last season, the Golden Eagles came to Knoxville and thumped Tennessee 12-5, which dropped the Vols to 23-14 overall after their 5-10 start in Southeastern Conference play. It would serve as the low moment of Tennessee's spring, with the Vols responding by winning nine straight.
The Vols used seven pitchers Tuesday, and they combined to allow only three hits and didn't yield any walks.
"Our pitchers kept down a good team," Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said. "They come in here, and a lot of their kids are from this area, so they either love or hate the Vols."
Robin Villeneuve led off Tennessee's first inning with a single to center and would score the game's first run. The Vols maintained that 1-0 lead until the fourth inning, when they opened with Hunter Ensley's infield hit, Dean Curley's walk and Chapman's infield hit, with Curley and Chapman eventually scoring to make it 3-0.
Villeneuve went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Burke and Ensley added two hits apiece. Tuesday also marked the starting debut for touted freshman shortstop Ariel Antigua, who produced several impressive plays defensively.
"He has a never-ending vibe of wanting to be out there," Vitello said. "Everything he did today didn't surprise anybody in our dugout."
Said Antigua: "It was fun. I've been waiting a little while being hurt. It was nice to get out there."
The Vols will resume SEC play Friday night, when they host Georgia in the first of a three-game series.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.