Tennessee first baseman Blake burke and second baseman Christian Moore have been major pieces of the Vols’ success during their three year careers at Tennessee.
As the duo lead Tennessee’s offense through the 2024 season, they’re in the midst of quite the home run race. Entering the season, former Volunteer first baseman Luc Lipcius was Tennessee’s career home run leader with 40 home runs over the course of his six-year career.
But both Burke and Moore have surpassed Lipcius during this season. Entering this weekend’s series at Kentucky, Burke is Tennessee’s career home run leader with 43 home runs while Moore is one home run behind with 42 career home runs.
While the race could go either way, both Burke and Moore are hoping to end the season tied atop the Tennessee leaderboard.
“We talk about it. Whoever wins it, wins it. If we can tie, then we want a tie,” Burke said on Sunday after Moore tied the race.
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“We kind of joke about it a little bit. It’s fun to be in this situation,” Moore said Sunday. “I would like to tie, so nobody has bragging rights.”
It would be fitting for the duo to tie for the top spot. They arrived at Tennessee in the same year, competed for designated hitter starts as true freshmen and stepped into challenging roles in the middle of Tennessee’s lineup as sophomores.
Both Burke and Moore are having banner junior seasons. Burke is hitting .422 with 20 doubles, 13 home runs and 36 RBIs this season. His 27-game hit streak is also tied for the longest in program history.
Moore is hitting .352 with 12 doubles, 15 home runs and 36 RBIs while serving as Tennessee’s leadoff hitter during the 2024 season.
Both Burke and Moore are looking to continue their success at the plate this weekend as Tennessee heads to Kentucky for a three-game series against No. 3 Kentucky. First pitch for the weekend series is at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday night. SEC Network+ is streaming the game.
