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Tennessee tames Florida to advance to first SEC Tournament Championship Game since 1995

Tony Vitello's club just keeps making history.
Jake Nichols|
Tennessee tames Florida to advance to first SEC Tournament Championship Game since 1995
Tennessee tames Florida to advance to first SEC Tournament Championship Game since 1995

HOOVER, Ala. — According to Tennessee senior Evan Russell, the Vols have rolled into Hoover Metropolitan Stadium this week with one goal in mind: "to win this whole thing."

Now, the Vols have a shot to do exactly that. 

In a windy SEC Tournament semifinal matchup, Tennessee blew past Florida 4-0 to advance to its first SEC Tournament Championship Game since 1995. The last time the Vols were in this position, they won the conference tournament before moving on to Omaha for the second College World Series appearance in program history.

From Windy to Winning

Through its win against Mississippi State and the rematch against Alabama, the Vols' bats stayed hot for a combined score of 23-2. But Saturday's win wasn't that simple -- at least not at first. 

Both teams stayed locked at zero in the first two innings. Each club appeared to have trouble with several gusts of wind, which blew toward the infield and pinned several would-be long balls in the air. 

Jake Rucker finally broke through in the top of the third, blasting a two-out RBI single to score Liam Spence for a 1-0 lead. 

Tennessee added two more runs in the top of the fourth. The Vols' 2-0 lead came off a bomb from Jordan Beck to score Luc Lipcius, then a wild pitch from Florida starter Brandon Sproat brought Beck across the plate for a 3-0 advantage. 

Florida made its first pitching change after that run, but it didn't matter to Drew Gilbert. The energized sophomore dropped a single into shallow left to bring Spence across once more, giving Tennessee its final margin of 4-0. 

Sewell starts, Hunley finishes

The Vols' pitching was a hot topic leading into Saturday, as Vitello mentioned the possibility of bringing Blade Tidwell back out after his fantastic outing in the Alabama rematch. 

Instead, Camden Sewell took the bump -- and he delivered in the clutch.

The junior allowed just two hits with no runs in six innings. He finished with a career-high six strikeouts -- 62 strikes total on 92 pitches -- and he received a rousing ovation from the orange-clad crowd when jogging toward the Tennessee dugout. 

"Camden Sewell was the ultimate leader," said Vitello. "He showed up in a zone, and it was pretty special to watch."

"That wasn't even the pitching plan," added Vitello of Sewell's six innings. "Not even close. He smashed that (plan) with the way he threw."

The outing was Sewell’s longest of his career to this point.

“Camden was incredible today,” added Spence. “He pounded the zone and worked fast. As a fielder, we appreciate that.”

Hunley earned some appreciation of his own when he entered in relief, as the senior right-hander tossed two innings with no runs, two hits and no errors. 

Hunley has been known as one of the Vols’ most composed pitchers this season, especially in high-pressure situations. He lived up to that on Saturday.

With two Florida runners on base and no outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Hunley induced a groundout into a smooth double play before forcing a fly-out to clinch the win.

"Sean's a special dude," said Sewell. "He's probably the best on our team in staying composed. He's a winner."

Added Vitello: "The world could be coming to an end, and (Hunley) maintains what his personality is. Just keeps plugging away."

Controversy to cruising leads to second round of Vitello vs. Van Horn

Tennessee's SEC Tournament run didn't start off the way the Vols wanted, as a controversial 3-2 Alabama win put UT in the losers' bracket. 

Since that point, the Vols are 3-0 in Hoover. In those three games, they have outscored opponents 27-2 en route to a championship berth that will pit Tennessee against Arkansas, which outlasted Ole Miss 3-2 in Saturday’s second semifinal.

The matchup is Tennessee’s second against Arkansas in less than a month. The last time these teams faced off, each game was decided by one run, and Tony Vitello and Dave Van Horn capped the series with a kerfuffle after the Hogs won the rubber match.

“I didn’t want to talk after we lost,” Vitello, who many thought snubbed when Van Horn was named SEC baseball’s Coach of the Year last week. “(Van Horn) got angry when I didn’t want to talk, so he said something. Then I said something that should have been handled off the field. Then we said to hell with it and had at it.”

The pair was noticeably more cordial on Saturday, but Vitello and Van Horn will meet again on Sunday with a title on the line.

If fans are unable to make the trip to Hoover, they can tune into ESPN2 at 2 p.m. CT (3 p.m. ET) for the SEC Tournament Championship Game.

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Jake Nichols
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