The fourth-ranked Vols entered Saturday — the final day of the regular season — needing a win at 15th-ranked South Carolina and a loss from second-ranked Vanderbilt to unranked Kentucky in Nashville. They got both of those things.
Coach Tony Vitello’s Vols held on late for a 5-4 win in Columbia early Saturday afternoon, but they still needed Kentucky to score at upset win in Nashville later in the day. The Wildcats entered the ninth inning with a 4-2 deficit but rallied for five runs in the top of the inning and held the Commodores to one run in the bottom of the frame to secure the East for rival Tennessee.
Kentucky scored all five of its ninth-inning runs — a three-run homer from catcher Coltyn Kessler and a two-run homer from designated hitter Jacob Plastiak — with two outs, doing most of the damage against Dores closer Nick Maldonado.
That Kentucky win in Nashville made Tennessee’s 5-4 win at South Carolina even more significant. The Vols trailed 1-0 after after center fielder Brady Allen’s leadoff homer in the bottom of the first, but they came back and took a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth, courtesy of a three-run homer from sophomore catcher Connor Pavolony.
South Carolina rallied to score three runs and narrow the gap to 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth, and third baseman Jeff Heinrich brought Founders Park to its feet with a leadoff double against Tennessee senior closer Sean Hunley in the bottom of the ninth. The unflappable Hunley bounced back in a big way, though, striking out the next three batters he faced to nail down a series win that ultimately proved to be the difference in the SEC East.
Top-ranked Arkansas — which edged Tennessee in a series of nothing but close games last weekend in Knoxville — won the SEC Western Division and the overall regular season championship, and the Razorbacks will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament in Birmingham-area Hoover, Ala.
Tennessee will be the No. 2 seed in next week’s SEC Tournament, meaning the Vols will open the tournament play at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Tennessee will play the winner of a Tuesday game between No. 7 seed South Carolina and No. 10 seed Alabama.
If the Vols win that Wednesday game, they’ll play again at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Thursday. If they lose to either the Gamecocks or the Crimson Tide, they’ll play an elimination game Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
