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.