Tennessee baseball: Three takeaways from Vols 12-2 SEC Tournament semifinals win vs. Kentucky

For the second straight season, Tennessee baseball has reached the SEC Tournament championship game. Just like in men’s basketball earlier this year, the Vols beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the semifinals to get there. They dominated, winning 12-2.

Tony Vitello’s team, ranked No. 1 across the board and the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, improved to 52-7 on the year with the victory. They also exacted revenge on the one team to beat them in a series this season. Led by sixth-year head coach Nick Mingione, Kentucky was the No. 12 seed and falls to 33-26.

Up next for Tennessee baseball is a Sunday matchup with the No. 7 seed Florida Gators, who upset the No. 2 seed Texas A&M Aggies Saturday to reach the title game. UT will be looking for its first SEC Tournament title since 1995. Here are three things we learned from Tennessee baseball’s Saturday win.

1. Power remains unnecessary at the plate.

As they have done every game in this tournament so far, the Vols managed to put on an offensive clinic without hitting home runs, uncharacteristic of what they did during the season. UT and UK were tied at two going into the top of the eighth, and that’s when their scoring started.

Blake Burke hit a homer in the ninth to drive in three runs, but that was the only homer of the game. A triple by Jordan Beck, doubles by Drew Gilbert and Cortland Lawson, a sac fly by Trey Lipscomb and a stolen base all contributed to the other runs. Then there’s what Kentucky did, which leads to our next point.

2. Vols cashed in on Kentucky’s mistakes.

They only had one error attributed to them, but Kentucky made mistakes all night. Tennessee baseball’s first run came in the first running, after Beck’s triple. He scored on a wild pitch. They broke the tie in the eighth when Jorel Ortega was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Beck then scored on another wild pitch that advanced runners to second and third.

In the final out of that inning, Burke was thrown out at home, but those advancements allowed Lipscomb and Ortega to score. Gilbert’s double in the ninth turned into a triple off Kentucky’s error, which allowed Lipcius and Christian Scott to score. That came after a balk too. Simply put, UK made mistake after mistake.

3. Pitchers brought the heat.

Drew Beam got the start and allowed just two hits and no runs in three and a third innings. Chase Burns then came in and pitched through the eighth inning. He allowed two runs to tie it up, but it was in over four and a third innings, and he still picked up the win. The two together combined to strike out 14.

Although Tennessee baseball had an error too, that power protected the defense to a degree. Wyatt Evans closed the deal in the ninth, striking out all three batters he faced, so Tennessee baseball struck out 17 on the night. That was crucial.