Christian Moore pounded his chest and raised his right hand as he trotted toward first base on Sunday.
The ball? It sailed over the left-field fence at Kentucky Proud Park, where the Tennessee junior smashed his third home run of the series.
Moore was on fire all weekend in Lexington, delivering his best performance in the final game to propel the Vols to a series victory in Lexington, Kentucky. Tennessee triumphed 13-11 on Sunday, securing the series after a 9-4 victory on Saturday.
Moore hit four home runs in the three-game series for No. 3 Tennessee (33-7, 12-6 SEC) against the No. 5 Wildcats (32-7, 15-3). UT dropped the opener 5-3 on Friday.
How Tennessee Baseball Won the Series Against Kentucky
Kavares Tears delivered a pivotal at-bat during the whirlwind Sunday finale. The junior outfielder faced an 0-2 count, fouled off three offspeed pitches, watched three more, and then crushed the ninth pitch for a go-ahead two-run homer.
Tennessee was trailing 6-2 in the fourth inning but rallied to take a 7-6 lead in the sixth. The comeback began with Cal Stark getting hit by a pitch and was capped off by Cannon Peebles’ clutch sacrifice fly.
The Vols were down 8-7 when Christian Moore’s second homer tied the game at 8-8. Tears then put Tennessee in the lead, and Moore’s three-run shot in the eighth inning secured the win despite the Wildcats hitting back-to-back homers to narrow the gap to 13-11.
Aaron Combs Provides Stability for Tennessee Baseball
Aaron Combs has demonstrated over the past few weeks that he is exactly the pitcher Tennessee anticipated him to be. His performance on Saturday was his best yet.
Combs pitched 4⅔ scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and no walks. He struck out seven batters, including striking out the side in the ninth inning, setting a career high after establishing a new one with six strikeouts against Auburn in early March.
“Combs Finding His Rhythm,” Says Vols Coach Tony Vitello
“He had to get his feet under him a little bit, and it’s been nice to see him pitching the way he is,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said on Saturday.
Aaron Combs had a rough start to the season, allowing eight runs on eight hits and seven walks with 11 strikeouts in five nonconference appearances. However, the right-handed reliever has since allowed only two runs on eight hits and five walks over 12⅔ innings in SEC play, striking out 18 batters in those five conference outings.
Recently, Combs has felt more confident in his command, not issuing a walk in his last 6⅔ innings. During this span, he has struck out 10 batters, allowing only three hits and no runs. In Kentucky, he induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth and navigated around back-to-back hits in the seventh, demonstrating his reliability as a key bullpen option.
“I had my curveball for sure,” Combs said of his performance against Kentucky. “It has kind of been my main pitch the last couple outings. … I had total control of it.”
Tennessee Baseball’s Home Run Surge
Moore homered in the third inning on Sunday, marking Tennessee’s 108th home run of the season. This is the third consecutive season the Vols have hit at least 108 home runs, surpassing the previous program record of 107 set before 2022.
Tennessee has now hit 111 home runs, trailing only the 158 homers hit by the 2022 team and the 126 hit last season.
Moore now holds the Tennessee career record with 46 home runs, surpassing Blake Burke’s 44. He is also closing in on the single-season record of 24 set by Sonny Cortez in 1998.
Before the series, Kentucky had allowed 26 homers in 36 games. The Vols hit 10 in the series alone.
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