Volquest answers your Tennessee football, basketball and recruiting questions in the May 23 Mailbag
Blake Burke was standing not far from home plate at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex on Sunday afternoon, patting the shoulders of Christian Moore. Tennessee Baseball’s first basemen apparently thought his teammate and second baseman was about to be named the SEC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The public address announcer then called Burke’s name as MVP, and Moore turned around and pushed Burke toward the SEC commissioner. Greg sankey for the photo shoot.
Burke was named MVP and a member of the All-SEC Tournament Team alongside Tennessee outfielder. Kavarès Tears after the Vols beat LSU 4-3 to win the tournament championship for the second time in three years.
Blake Burke thought Christian Moore was about to win tournament MVP. Then Burke won it. pic.twitter.com/28tdgJss4b
—Mike Wilson (@ByMikeWilson) May 26, 2024
Burke hit the go-ahead home run in the eighth inning against Mississippi State on Friday.
Burke went 9-for-17 in five tournament games, scoring four runs and walking six times. He hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning of a 6-5 victory over Mississippi State on Friday night, which sent Tennessee to Saturday’s semifinal round and a rematch with Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt beat Tennessee 13-4 on Wednesday in the Vols’ first game of the tournament. The No. 1 seed bounced back with a 7-4 win over Texas A&M, a 6-5 win over Mississippi State and a 6-4 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night.
Tennessee will likely be the No. 1 overall seed when the 64-team NCAA Baseball Tournament bracket is released Monday (noon ET, Keynote USA2). The Vols were projected No. 1 overall by both D1Baseball.com and Baseball America on Sunday, entering the SEC Tournament final against LSU.
The History of Tennessee’s NCAA Baseball Postseason with Tony Vitello
Tony Vitello in 2019 led Tennessee back to the college baseball postseason for the first time since 2005 with a 40-win season in just his second year on the job. The Vols were eliminated by North Carolina in the Chapel Hill regional final after wins over UNC Wilmington and Liberty.
In 2021, after the COVID pandemic canceled the 2020 season, Tennessee won 50 games and returned to the College World Series for the first time since 2005, sweeping LSU in the Knoxville Super Regional before losing to No. 8 Virginia and then No. 2 Texas. in Omaha.
The Vols won 57 games in 2022 and were the first overall playoff seed, but were defeated by Notre Dame in the Knoxville Super Regional.
The Tennessee team that won 44 last season advanced from the Clemson Regional and won in three games in the Southern Miss Super Regional to return to Omaha. There, the Vols lost to LSU 6-3, bounced back with a 6-4 win over Stanford but were sent home after a 5-0 loss to LSU.
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