Tennessee sets NCAA record for most players with 20 home runs in a season
In Wednesday’s victory over Florida State, Tennessee star Blake Burke hit a monster home run in the ninth inning – his 20th of the season. That moonshot helped the Vols make NCAA history.
Burke became the fifth Volunteers player to reach the 20-home run plateau. That made the program the first in NCAA history to have five players hit that many homers in a season.
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Burke’s home run helped Tennessee extend its lead to 7-2 over Florida State. With the victory, the Vols clinched their first appearance in the College World Series finals since 1951, and their quest for a national championship continues this weekend against either Texas A&M or Florida.
The Volunteers set the tone early, taking a three-run lead in the first inning. A fielder’s choice scored Christian Moore to start things off before Hunter Ensley knocked in a run off a single down the left field line. Dylan Dreiling finished the inning off by scoring on a throwing error.
Burke then kept Tennessee’s fun going as he helped Moore score his second run in two innings after belting a single to right field on a two-strike pitch.
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Tennessee would add a couple of insurance runs over the next several innings, including an RBI triple from Moore, and Dreiling’s RBI single made it a 6-0 lead. But Florida State didn’t go down without a fight. Daniel Cantu and Alex Lodise both hit home runs in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 6-2. Then, Burke put the exclamation point on the victory with his ninth-inning home run.
While Tennessee’s bats were getting the job done on offense, Vols pitcher Zander Sechrist did his part by keeping the Seminoles at bay. While his day was ended by the pair of long balls, Sechrist logged three strikeouts, allowed five hits and a walk through 6.1 innings pitched (76 TP). Kirby Connell relieved Sechrist in the seventh where he played through the eighth inning. Nate Snead came in for the ninth inning to log the save.
The win continues the Vols’ hot streak in Omaha after defeating Florida State twice and knocking off North Carolina on Sunday. Tennessee is the first team to punch its ticket to the championship series and will await the winner of Texas A&M vs. Florida. They square off Wednesday night and an if-necessary game would await if the Gators get the victory.
The finals begin on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.