Tennessee baseball defeats Vanderbilt and advances to SEC Tournament title game

HOOVER, Ala. − Tennessee baseball will play for another SEC championship on Sunday.

The Vols will advance to the SEC Tournament title game, defeating Vanderbilt in a semifinal Saturday and reaching the final game of the conference tournament for the third time in the last four seasons.

No. 1 seed Tennessee got a quality start from Zander Sechrist and a mammoth two-run home run from Christian Moore to beat No. 8 seed Vanderbilt 6-4 at Hoover Met.

Tennessee (49-11) faces No. 11 LSU (40-20) in the SEC Tournament title game on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2). UT won the SEC tournament in 2022 for the first time since 1995. It also made the title game in 2021. The Vols could sweep the SEC titles with a victory Sunday, locking the conference tournament into a share of the SEC title. the regular season.

The Vols swept the Tigers in a regular-season series in April at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Vols are 3-2 against the Commodores (38-21) this season. UT won the regular season series at Vanderbilt by winning the first two games. He lost to the Commodores in the series finale and in his first SEC Tournament game.

Zander Sechrist made back-to-back quality starts

Sechrist had only thrown six straight innings once in his career before his final regular-season start against South Carolina. He covered six scoreless games against the Gamecocks to help UT clinch a share of the SEC regular season title.

The left-handed pitcher had a second consecutive quality start. He allowed two runs on four hits with one walk in six innings. Sechrist struck out five and saved most of Tennessee’s bullpen.

Marcus Phillips showed something

Marcus Phillips made his third save this season, covering the final three innings. The sophomore escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth by inducing a return to the mound. He came out of a two-on, no-out situation in the ninth, allowing just one run to score.

Cannon Peebles was productive as Tony Vitello shuffled the lineup

Vols coach Tony Vitello shuffled Tennessee’s roster to give a preview of the other players Saturday. Cannon Peebles got the start at receiver and made the most of it.

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Peebles hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, then had a rope single in the sixth and eighth.

UT also started Ariel Antigua at shortstop and Dalton Bargo at third base. Billy Amick started as the designated hitter.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will give you access to the entire thing.