Tennessee won the SEC East title on Saturday, for the first time since the 1997 season.
After the Vols defeated South Carolina on Saturday, they were patiently waiting to see if they would add a division title to their season, as Vanderbilt and Kentucky were getting underway. It came down to the 9th inning in Nashville, as Kentucky was down to their last out. With two runners on base, Kentucky blasted on three-run bomb to take the 5-4 lead. Just a few pitches later, the Wildcats blasted a 2-run homer, making it 7-4.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello had this to say, after clinching the SEC East.
“It’s an honor for anyone to accomplish anything in the SEC. Really happy for Vol Nation. We are also happy for our kids. They continue to work hard every day. This is one more thing they can take confidence in.”
Vanderbilt couldn’t get anything going in the bottom 9th and thanks to Kentucky, Tennessee won the division. The Vols and Dores both finished with 10 losses, but Tennessee finished a half-game up, thanks to the Dores their 3rd game with Alabama cancelled a few weeks ago.
So, to recap. For the first time since 1994, Tennessee won every road series this season in the SEC and finished the regular season with 42 wins. This is a clear sign of how far the Tennessee Baseball program has come since Tony Vitello took over.
Tennessee will now head to the SEC Tournament as the #2 seed and will play the winner of South Carolina/Alabama at 2 ET on Wednesday.
Turned out to be a very big day for Tennessee Baseball, with the postseason now beginning.
