The Tennessee Volunteers finally won a Southeastern Conference road series, and just in time for tournament play.
After No. 13 South Carolina pulled away for a 6-1 victory in Saturday’s first seven-inning contest to square the three-game series in Columbia, the No. 18 Vols erupted for a 12-1 thrashing that clinched a winning league season. Tennessee’s 16-14 SEC record was bolstered by an 11-4 mark in the back half of the conference schedule.
“I think it’s just all the places we’ve been physically and mentally,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said Saturday night about his team’s resiliency. “It’s been about everywhere. One box we haven’t checked is winning two out of three on the road, and we did that.
“I think we did it because of all the things that preceded it.”
Tennessee completed a 38-18 regular season and will be the seventh seed at this week’s SEC baseball tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Vols will begin play Tuesday afternoon at roughly 1:30 Eastern against 10th-seeded Texas A&M, a team they swept at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in late March.