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Tennessee outlasts Vanderbilt, punches ticket to SEC Tournament title game
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Tennessee defeated Vanderbilt 6-4 on Saturday evening, clinching a spot in the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday.
The Vols will meet LSU in that contest after the Tigers defeated South Carolina in dramatic fashion earlier in the day in Hoover. The title game will be a matchup of the SEC’s No. 1 and No. 11 seeds.
TO THE SHIP!!#GBO // #OTH // #VolsWin pic.twitter.com/R1KxGuN8FY
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 26, 2024
Christian Moore was the hero for Tennessee against Vanderbilt. He went 3-for-5 with 1 home run, 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 1 run scored. Moore’s home run came in the 6th inning and gave the Vols a 5-1 lead — a deficit that proved too big to overcome for the Commodores.
Zander Sechrist and Marcus Phillips combined to pitch all 9 innings for the Vols. Sechrist got the start and allowed just 2 runs over 6 innings of work while striking out 5. Phillips slammed the door with a 9-out save, although he did allow 1 earned run.
Looking ahead to Sunday, Tennessee and LSU met for a series in Knoxville earlier this season. The Vols swept that mid-April series, winning all 3 games by multiple runs.
It was previously reported that LSU head coach Jay Johnson would not be able to be in the dugout on Sunday after he was ejected from the Tigers’ semifinal win on Saturday. However, ESPN’s Peter Burns is reporting that Johnson will be allowed to manage the SEC title game after all:
Update:
Jay Johnson WILL be coaching tomorrow for @LSUbaseball tomorrow vs @Vol_Baseball. https://t.co/Hk9lBJxdRo
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) May 26, 2024
After a long week in Hoover, both Tennessee and LSU have exhausted pitching staffs. At this time, it’s unclear who will be on the mound for either team on Sunday.
Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, Tennessee will enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the favorites to take home the top prize in Omaha. Tennessee is currently the favorite at DraftKings with +500 odds to win the College World Series.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
