It was too much Blake Burke at the plate and too much Drew Beam on the mound Sunday afternoon for the Dayton Flyers in their 6-0 loss to Tennessee that completed a three-game sweep for the Volunteers at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Burke, the sophomore first baseman, launched a pair of solo home runs to post his second career multihomer game. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder from Brentwood, California, has 18 homers in 123 college at-bats.
"The stuff he does is just not normal," Tennessee associate head coach Josh Elander told reporters after the Vols improved to 6-2 while dropping Dayton to 0-6. "He hits balls in BP where you just kind of scratch your head and say, 'Did that really just happen?' I know he can leave the yard, but he's just a really good hitter.
"He's special, and he'll take your breath away when he lands on one."
Sunday marked Tennessee's sixth straight win that followed opening losses to Arizona and Grand Canyon.
"The mindset and mood has been to not change anything and to stick to ourselves and that we will be fine," Burke said.
Beam improved to 2-0, working into the sixth inning and allowing one hit. The sophomore has yet to allow a run in more than 11 innings this season but did deal with a little adversity Sunday when a ball struck his leg.
"He's just a tough kid, and I think the football background helped him a little bit there," Elander said. "I think it got him right in the thigh. I don't know if that's the best spot or the worst spot, but it didn't get him in the kneecap."
Tennessee is in the midst of a 15-game homestand and will play Charleston Southern on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.