Georgia football and Kentucky basketball, meet Tennessee baseball.
Tony Vitello’s top-ranked Volunteers not only roared through four games in last weekend’s Southeastern Conference tournament by the combined score of 35-10, but they did so in front of lots and lots of orange.
“It’s pretty surreal to see,” Vols pitcher and former Cleveland High standout Camden Sewell said after throwing five scoreless innings in Sunday’s 8-5 win over Florida in the championship game. “I remember there were a lot of people when we got to the championship game last year, but each of these last few games here have been pretty special. Everyone who traveled, we can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Tennessee’s wins over Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky and Florida at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama, took place in front of a staggering 44,106 fans. The biggest crowds were the 13,270 who witnessed Sunday’s championship and the 12,215 who attended last Friday night’s Tennessee-LSU game that started at 11:10 Eastern.
The Vols prevailed 5-2 over the Tigers, with that contest ending at 2:12 Saturday morning.
“That was incredible,” LSU first-year coach Jay Johnson told the SEC Network. “Obviously Tony has done an incredible job building that program, and they have a good fan base, but in my opinion, we have the best fan base in college baseball. There was really good energy in the park, and it was just a great showcase for college baseball and a great showcase for the SEC as the best conference in college baseball.
“We didn’t get the win, but there were some things we did well, and that will really prepare us for the postseason.”
While LSU baseball has been around the block many times in fan loyalty with six national championships, Tennessee’s popularity surge began last spring, when Lindsey Nelson Stadium had COVID-related restrictions early in the season but was packed down the stretch as the Vols won 50 contests and reached the College World Series for the first time since 2005. The excitement grew even more this season, as Tennessee is taking a 53-7 record and the NCAA tournament’s top overall seed into this weekend’s Knoxville Regional against Alabama State, Georgia Tech and Campbell.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAYGame 1 – Georgia Tech vs. Campbell (noon on ESPN+)Game 2 – Tennessee vs. Alabama State, (6 on SEC Network)SATURDAYGame 3 – Loser of Game 1 vs. Loser of Game 2 (TBD)Game 4 – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 (TBD)SUNDAYGame 5 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4 (TBD)Game 6 – Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 (TBD)MONDAYGame 7 (if necessary) – Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser of Game 6 (TBD)
The orange-clad faithful traveling to wherever Tennessee plays is reminiscent of Georgia’s football explosion in the 2017 season that contained stunning crowds at Notre Dame and in the Rose Bowl national semifinal. Vols fans taking over Hoover Met also was similar to the way Kentucky supporters have dominated the league’s various basketball tournament venues.
Tennessee played before three crowds in excess of 10,000 at Mississippi State before heading to Hoover, and the Vols will be back at Lindsey Nelson this weekend for the first time since 4,599 crammed in to watch an 18-0 blanking of Belmont of May 17.
“It’s a tribute to Vol Nation and how much they’re supporting us,” Tennessee first baseman Luc Lipcius said. “It’s really cool to step back and look into the crowd and see almost complete orange, even when we’re playing a team like LSU. It’s awesome that they’re getting so into baseball, and I know they’re going to represent in Lindsey Nelson through the rest of our run.”
Said center fielder Drew Gilbert: “I don’t think any of us can thank them enough for how much they help us. It really helps having a huge crowd behind you, and we love how passionate they are.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.