Tennessee baseball broke an impressive, longstanding SEC record Friday night in its 8-3 series-clinching win over South Carolina in Knoxville.
Thanks to Blake Burke’s towering grand slam in the seventh inning, Tennessee broke the SEC record for most grand slams in a single season with 11. The previous record was held by LSU, who hit 10 in 1998.
Eleven grand slams also puts Tennessee tied for third-most in college baseball history. Arizona State’s 2003 team holds the record with 14 grand slams.
The Vols are tied with UCLA’s 1997 team and Oklahoma State’s 1995 team. Oklahoma State’s 1996 team has the second most grand slams in a single season of all-time with 12. No team has 13.
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While 11 grand slams is an incredibly impressive total, what makes Tennessee’s total even more eye-opening is the fact that nine different Vols have hit a grand slam.
Burke is joined by Dean Curley, Cal Stark, Reese Chapman, Billy Amick, Dylan Dreiling, Christian Moore, Dalton Bargo and Robin Villeneuve to have hit one. Stark and Burke have each done it twice.
Tennessee’s 11 grand slams are included in its P5-leading 141 home run total. The Vols’ offense has been the cream of the crop in the sport’s most talented league this season. And while the grand slam record is indicative of how dominant Tennessee’s offense has been, the Vols are looking to achieve much more significant accolades as the postseason nears.
