UT becomes first team to open SEC play with 12 consecutive wins
Vol Mania, a craze usually reserved for football at Rocky Top, has now hit the baseball diamond, as fifth-year head coach Tony Vitello is guiding No. 1 Tennessee through a historic 2022 season.
The Vols have a talented lineup of hitters including Trey Lipscomb, Luc Lipcius, Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck (aka Mike Honcho) and others.
The Volunteers have scored runs in bunches all season, winning 31 of their first 33 games and getting off to a 12-0 start in Southeastern Conference play. Only a shock loss to Tennessee Tech on April 12 at Smokies Stadium in Kodak ended the team’s unbelievable streak of victories, and the SEC record is still intact.
Tennessee baseball is now the hottest ticket in town, as the Vols are sold out for the rest of the season at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. And the offense is only part of the story for the Big Orange, which, until Tuesday night, had reeled off 23 consecutive wins since losing to then top-ranked Texas, 7-2, on March 4 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. All three starters in Tennessee’s weekend pitching rotation – Chase Burns, Chase Dollander and Drew Beam – earned spots on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List.
However, the Vols, who once were the SEC’s lovable losers under head coaches Todd Raleigh and Dave Serrano, are beloved no more. Tennessee’s batting order strikes fear in opponents, but its antics – relished by the team’s fans but despised by pretty much everyone else – have been stoking their ire. Just ask Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, who had Beck’s bat inspected (and confiscated) or Arkansas head man Dave Van Horn (Vitello’s former boss), who complained about UT’s home run celebration, which involves a cape and a “Daddy” hat.
Just in case there was any doubt, though, the Vols and their head coach are embracing their new roles as villains, the SEC team that everyone outside of Knoxville loves to hate. Tennessee baseball has a swagger, an air similar to Miami football of the ‘80s and UNLV basketball under Jerry Tarkanian. While the Vols’ players haven’t been embroiled in the scandals that rocked those programs, Vitello has become a polarizing figure in a sport which has a long history of shunning grandstanding and expecting its participants to eschew outward displays of emotion.
UT’s success on the diamond really doesn’t come as much of a surprise in 2022, considering that the Vols won 50 games and made it to the College World Series last June. Beck, Gilbert, Lipscomb and Evan Russell are among the returners from the 2021 squad. Lipscomb and Jorel Ortega, however, are among those who have been on offensive tears after receiving limited playing time in recent years.
Aside from the disappointing result earlier this week, this season thus far has been nothing short of amazing. And as long as the success continues, baseball fans can proudly cheer, “It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol!”
