Tennessee Volunteers Defy Expectations and Make History

The Tennessee Volunteers just locked in their second SEC East title in school history. 

At the start of the year, Tennessee was predicted to be the 19th team in the nation, with Texas being predicted as number one in the nation. 

But now,Tennessee is the number one team in the country for D1 baseball with a record of 42-6 and a sure spot in the SEC title. They only lost one three-game series this year, and that was to Kentucky. 

Whether you love or hate the team, they still find a way to have as much fun as they can playing baseball.

“The Tennessee Vols are the Bad Boys of college baseball,” Gentry Estes said.

The team has had an amazing year so far, and they don’t seem like they will be slowing down any time soon. Tennessee is playing so well that it is now considered an accomplishment in itself if a team ends up winning a single game against them. 

One of the best series for the volunteers was against Iona. The series was so good for them because it showed they could hit the ball, outscoring Iona 68-3 in the three-game series. 

Not only are the Vols showing explosiveness at the plate but in the field too, with Ben Joyce creating the new highest fastball ever thrown in college baseball. This pitch was clocked at 105.5 mph. That’s not the only thing he can throw too, with his change-up clocking in at 91 mph. 

Joyce isn’t the only pitcher to bring it, with Chase Dollander being on all three of the leaderboards for the Tennessee bullpen. Dollander has seven wins, with eighty-four strikeouts and a 2.54 earned run average. 

Blake Burke is leading the Tennessee offense in batting average with a .397, with fifty-eight at-bats and twenty-three hits, nine of them being home runs.

So this year, Tennessee looks like its is making a run for the college world series, and at this rate, they could easily win it all.