Texas A&M needed a win against Tennessee in the 1st Round of the SEC Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. After a rain delay and a dominant performance from lefty pitcher Troy Wansing, the Aggies did just that, downing the Vols in shutout fashion, 3-0.

Tennessee was held to the fewest number of hits in 6 seasons under head coach Tony Vitello Tuesday. He finished allowing 1 hit in 8 innings pitcher with no walks and 7 Ks in perhaps his best performance all season.

Jace LaViolette had the highlight of the day for the Aggies in the 6th, smashing a solo shot over the fence in right center to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

The Aggies will move on to the double elimination portion of the bracket to face off against the No. 2 seed, Arkansas, on Wednesday. Tennessee, after winning the tournament last season, is going home early.

The Aggies were probably in the NCAA Tournament field regardless of Tuesday’s results, but it seems barring absolute disaster they will be in the Field of 64 in a few weeks. The Aggies have recorded series wins against Mississippi State and Florida in the past month in addition to downing the Vols Tuesday.

Tennessee will be there too, but this time as a road team. The Vols had a great chance at outlasting a logjam of programs looking to own a host site after downing South Carolina in Columbia last week, but have all but squandered their opportunity with Tuesday’s performance.