Game Recap: Baseball | April 06, 2024
AUBURN, Ala. – It was a day filled with record-setting home runs for No. 4/4 Tennessee as it evened its series against Auburn with an emphatic 12-2 victory in front of a capacity crowd at Plainsman Park on Saturday afternoon.
Blake Burke cemented himself into UT lore, becoming the Volunteers’ career home run leader while Christian Moore hit the eighth grand slam of the season for the Big Orange, breaking the 1998 team’s single season record of seven.
Burke led off the fourth inning with his 41st career homer, a solo shot to left-center field to put himself atop the program’s all-time home run list, surpassing his predecessor at first base Luc Lipcius (2017-22).
Burke’s 11th blast of the year also extended his hitting streak to 21 straight games and was one of six that the Big Orange belted on the afternoon.
Dylan Dreiling and Dalton Bargo hit two long balls each, marking the first time this season that the Vols had two players hit multiple homers in the same game.
While UT (25-6, 6-5 SEC) wasn’t busy mashing baseballs over the fence, Drew Beam was dealing on the mound en route to his second complete game of the season. The junior righthander allowed just three hits and didn’t give up a run until back-to-back wild pitches allowed the Tigers to score twice in the seventh inning.
Until a one-out double in that seventh inning, Beam had retired 14 consecutive batters. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native, finished with eight strikeouts and walked just one batter on the day, improving to 4-1 on the year.
Auburn (18-12, 2-9 SEC) did not have a single player finish with more than one hit. Conner McBride started on the mound for the Tigers was fell to 3-2 on the year after surrendering five runs on four hits and two walks in just 1.2 innings.
The Vols on the other hand, had five players record multiple base hits in the game, led by three-hit performances from Moore and Dean Curley. Moore also finished with a career-high six RBIs after doubling in a pair of runs in the top of the seventh following his grand slam in UT’s five-run second inning.
Bargo and Dreiling had multi-RBI days as well with three and two, respectively. Hunter Ensley also had a productive game, scoring twice and reaching base in all four of his plate appearances with a pair of singles and two walks.
STAT OF THE GAME: Tennessee’s six home runs were its most in an SEC game since blasting seven in a win at Mississippi State on May 19, 2022, which was a full nine-inning contest. The Big Orange also hit six bombs in a victory over Auburn on April 29, 2022, in Knoxville.
UP NEXT: The Vols will play in their fourth consecutive rubber game on Sunday. They are 2-1 in their previous three after posting back-to-back Sunday wins at home over Ole Miss and Georgia to cap off the past two weekends.
First pitch for this Sunday’s series finale is set for 2 p.m. ET on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
