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Christian Moore has powered his way into the history books, blasting Florida State pitchers to a historic outing at the College World Series.
On Friday night, Tennessee and FSU squared off in the CWS opener for each team. Moore opened the game with a bang, delivering a triple into the right field gap to lead off the bottom of the 1st for Tennessee.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Moore doubled, and his single came in the 4th inning, saving the home run as the final piece of the cycle. It would eventually come in the 6th inning with FSU going to the bullpen for reliever Conner Whittaker.
After working the count in his favor, Moore drilled a 3-1 pitch to dead center field. The cycle-completing blast was tracked at 117 MPH off the bat with a distance of 440 feet. According to the ESPN broadcast, that is the 3rd-longest home run in the history of Charles Schwab Field.
This man is playing a video game!
Sixth cycle in program history and first ever in the postseason!
https://t.co/dVeQaEJOOQ (ESPN)#GBO // #OTH // #MCWS // #BeatFSU pic.twitter.com/KNpempmq67
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 15, 2024
NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, MA, KS, KY, LA, TN, NC, CO, AZ, IA, IL, IN, MI, OH Must be 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Moore’s cycle is the 6th all-time for the Vols and gives Tennessee a cycle in 3 straight seasons. He joins Zane Denton (2023) and Trey Lipscomb (2022) in the accomplishment.
However, Moore’s cycle is the first by a Tennessee player in the postseason and is the 2nd all-time in the history of the men’s CWS. It has been almost 70 years since the first was accomplished by Minnesota’s Jerry Kindall in 1956.
While Moore has been punishing the Seminoles, Tennessee’s comeback bid is not yet complete. After trailing 9-4 at one point, Moore’s home run made it 9-7 in favor of FSU entering the 7th inning. We’ll see if the Vols can pull off some late-inning drama to reach the winner’s bracket.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
