Tennessee baseball first baseman Blake Burke has broken the program hit streak record. The junior recorded a hit for the 28th straight game on Friday, breaking VFL legend Condredge Holloway’s previous record of 27 games.
Burke’s hit came in the top of the eighth inning of Friday night’s series opener against No. 3 Kentucky in Lexington.
The hit was initially ruled an error, as the hard-hit ground ball ricocheted off of the Kentucky first baseman’s glove and into the outfield. However, after the game, the error was correctly changed to a hit.
There was a similar situation in the bottom of the seventh inning when Billy Amick was given an error for having a hard-hit grounder go off of his glove. After the game, though, that, too, was ruled a hit.
Burke tied Holloway’s record on Tuesday night against Bellarmine when he logged a hit for the 27th straight game. The Brentwood, California, native’s hit streak goes all the way back to March 1st in the series opener against Bowling Green, which was the first game to begin the streak.
The 6-foot-3 power-hitting lefty has been Tennessee’s best hitter so far in SEC play, slashing .444/.493/.762 with a 1.255 OPS. Burke is currently tied for the NCAA lead and leads all power five players with 20 doubles. Burke is also tied for second on the team with 13 home runs on the year.
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The Vols’ first baseman has been no stranger to etching his name into the Tennessee record books this season, as Burke broke Luc Lipcius’ program home run record in during the Auburn series with his 41st home run.
Now at 43 career home runs, Burke must out-pace teammate Christian Moore to end his Tennessee career as the sole home run king, as Moore is one behind at 42. However, both Burke and Moore are rooting for a tie.
“He’s been a big presence for us and been a big leader for us,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said of Burke earlier in the season. “It’s great he hits homers and gets hits, but I think his defense has greatly improved. He’s turned himself into a guy we won’t pinch-run for this year. That’s not a contract but I’m kind of thinking that on how he’s done in that category. Above all, he is a team captain type guy and a great leader.”
Burke and Tennessee lost to Kentucky, 5-3, in the series opener.
