Tennessee Vols morning report: Baseball wins regular season home finale
It was a big midweek day for the Tennessee Vols once again Tuesday. Men’s basketball added another commit in power forward Tobe Awaka. Meanwhile, the sport still in its regular season for the 2021-2022 UT athletic calendar took a big step towards drawing that to a close.
Our morning update on Rocky Top leads with the baseball program winning its final home game in a big way. The outright SEC Champions now have one series left, on the road this weekend against the Mississippi State Bulldogs for a three-game series.
In addition to the baseball win, we’ve got ongoing coverage of the men’s golf program in the NCAA Regionals. Finally, we’ll close out with some all-conference recognition for the rowing team, which wrapped up Big 12 postseason play this past weekend. Let’s start on the diamond, though.
Tony Vitello, players talk 18-0 win vs. Belmont – Ben McKee, VolQuest
Back to being ranked No. 1 across the board, the Tennessee Vols baseball team put on a show for their regular season home finale Tuesday. UT shut out the Belmont Bruins 18-0 with six home runs and eight pitchers in the game. Tony Vitello talked about celebrating the seniors in the game and what that performance meant.
"“It was great. And I’m glad we recognize the guys who have graduated, as well. It’s such a convoluted or tough thing to judge who’s a senior who’s not in baseball, in general, because of the draft. But then you throw in the COVID complications, and it’s kind of awkward.”"
Seth Stephenson was the star at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two home runs, two RBIs and four runs scored. Here’s a bit of what he said about how he played so well.
"“I think just trying to hit the ball on the line on the ground, kind of helped, if that makes sense, trying to hit a line drive.”"
Trey Lipscomb was among those honored Tuesday, along with Luc Lipcius, who went 2-for-2 with a homer. He didn’t hit a homer, but Lipcsomb was 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Here’s what he said about going through Senior Day.
"“It was cool. I mean, the whole thing, just coming to the ballpark today knowing it was Senior Day was a good feeling.”"
Golf moves up leaderboard at NCAA Regionals – UTSports
After a horrendous start that saw them seven strokes out of one of the top five spots necessary to advance to the NCAA Championships, the No. 4 seed Tennessee Vols men’s golf team had a strong second day at the Bryan NCAA Regionals. They shot four-under to improve to three-over.
"Tennessee is in seventh place, but just four strokes back from fifth-place Oregon State. Following Wednesday’s third round of competition, the top five teams from the Bryan NCAA Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships, which are set to take place from May 27 to June 1 in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Grayhawk Golf Club."
Rowing places 25 on Academic All-Big 12 – Big12Sports.com
Coming off a second place finish in the NCAA Automatic Qualifier races at the Big 12 Championship this past weekend, the Tennessee Lady Vols rowing program placed 25 on the conference’s All-Academic team Tuesday. All of them were First Team.
"First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 20 percent of their team’s scheduled contests."