No. 1 Tennessee Clinches SEC Tournament Championship.
The Vols are now both the SEC regular season champions and SEC Tournament champions following their 4-1 victory over the eleven-seeded LSU Tigers.
In Sunday’s championship matchup against LSU, the Volunteers had to fight back early. LSU’s first baseman Jared Jones hit a solo home run, putting the Tigers ahead 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. However, the Vols responded quickly in the third inning when Billy Amick launched a three-run home run over the left field wall, giving the Vols a 3-1 lead by the end of the third inning.
Left-hander Dylan Loy took over from starting pitcher AJ Russell and dominated the LSU lineup, throwing 4.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to maintain the Vols’ 3-1 lead going into the seventh inning. Center fielder Hunter Ensley added to the Vols’ lead in the top of the seventh with an RBI single up the middle, extending the lead to 4-1.
The Volunteer bullpen faced a challenge in the ninth inning when Aaron Combs came in with a runner on second and one out. Combs allowed a ground rule double to Steven Milam, bringing the score to 4-2. LSU capitalized on this momentum, narrowing the gap to 4-3 after a fielding error by third baseman Billy Amick. Despite LSU’s late rally, Aaron Combs struck out the next two batters, securing a 4-3 championship victory for the Volunteers.
This win marks the Vols’ fifth SEC Tournament Championship in program history and secures the No. 1 seed in the College World Series, where they will aim for their first national championship.
