Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Tennessee

Tennessee baseball completes first triple play of the 2024 season vs. Oklahoma

Wade-Peeryby: Wade Peery02/18/24
On3 image
Eakin Howard/Getty Images

The Tennessee baseball team is annually stacked with some of the best talent in all of college baseball. The Volunteers return some of the best bats in all of college baseball yet again this spring. But on Saturday night in the seventh inning vs. the Oklahoma Sooners, the Volunteers showed off their defense, completing the first triple play of the 2024 college baseball season.

According to the Tennessee baseball Twitter account, that’s the Vols first triple play since Feb. 22, 1997 vs. Eastern Michigan. That’s nearly 27 years! It’s one of the rarest feats in baseball. It’s difficult to accomplish, no matter how much talent is on the roster.

Oklahoma tied Tennessee 1-1 to go into extra innings on Saturday night. Oklahoma took the lead in the top of the fourth inning, when Rocco Garza-Gongora slapped in an RBI single. The Sooners ended up winning 5-1, after tacking on four runs in the top of the 10th inning.

The Volunteers won their first game in the Shriner’s Children’s College Showdown on Friday night. They won that one against Texas Tech, 6-2. On Sunday, February 18th, they’ll be back in action in the same tournament, taking on the Baylor Bears. That one is set for 7:30 PM EST.

Tennessee finished the 2023 campaign as the 9th ranked team in the country, finishing with a 44-22 overall record. The Volunteers return plenty of talent for the 2024 campaign. Their returning home run leader is Christian Moore, the middle infielder. He blasted 17 homers last year, one away from leading the team.

Tennessee acquired some talent via the transfer portal this offseason and one of the biggest names they landed was Billy Amick, a former slugger for the Clemson Tigers. Last year for Clemson, he batted .413 with 13 home runs and 68 RBIs. The junior will start at third base for the Volunteers this season and he’s expected to make a major impact.

One of their most talented pitchers is expected to be right hander Drew Beam–a man that has already racked up an extensive number of accolades during his highly decorated Volunteer baseball career. In Game 3 of the NCAA Hattiesburg Super Regional, Beam allowed zero runs in six innings and also fired seven strikeouts against Southern Miss, to punch the Vols’ tickets to the 2023 College World Series.

Last year, he fired 88 total strikeouts in 84.1 innings, with an ERA of 3.63. Beam finished with an overall record of 9-4.