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No. 1 Tennessee completed a 3-game sweep over No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday afternoon, winning 4-1 in Knoxville.
It’s a huge win for the Vols for a number of reasons, but the most important is that they finish the year 22-8 and in a tie with Kentucky at the top of the SEC East standings. Because UT took 2-of-3 from Kentucky earlier this season, it will be the Vols who head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed next week.
Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt 12-4 on the final day of the regular season on Saturday to make this result possible. The Wildcats, ranked No. 2 nationally this week, will now be the No. 3 seed at the SEC Tournament. Arkansas, who won the SEC West, is guaranteed a top-2 seed by virtue of winning a division crown.
Here’s a look at Tennessee’s postgame locker room celebration following Kentucky’s loss to Vanderbilt:
You love to see it! ? pic.twitter.com/DT0BuZfUUG
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 18, 2024
In the regular-season finale against South Carolina, Tennessee received a great start from Zander Sechrist. He pitched 6 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 4 hits (all singles) and zero walks. He also struck out 4 batters in his outing.
Offensively, the Vols strung together 9 hits on the day to score their 4 runs. They put together a 3-run 5th inning thanks to 4 consecutive singles in that frame.
Tennessee will now turn its attention to the SEC Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, the Vols will play in their first game of the week on Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. Aside from the first round, the SEC Tournament will be played with a double-elimination format until the semifinals. Tennessee will face the winner of Game 3 (No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed) in its opening game.
The bracket will be finalized on Saturday evening, but the top 4 seeds are already known: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 3 Kentucky and No. 4 Texas A&M. All 4 of those programs have earned a first-round bye.
Tennessee last won the SEC Tournament in 2022.
The Vols will enter this week as one of the favorites to win the College World Series as well. They’re currently +550 to win the national title, according to the latest odds from DraftKings.
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Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
