Kavares Tears strolled down the line, shifting the bat from his left hand to his right hand.

The Tennessee baseball outfielder didn't discard it until the three-run home run he demolished departed Lindsey Nelson Stadium and directed the Vols onward in the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee is marching onto a fourth straight super regional after punishing Southern Miss 12-3 on Sunday in the regional final. It is the sixth super regional appearance in program history.

Tennessee will host the super regional starting either Friday or Saturday. It will face Evansville (38-24), which knocked off host and top seed East Carolina on Monday in the Greenville Regional.

Tennessee (53-11) scored 10 unanswered runs starting with Tears' sixth-inning homer to end Southern Miss' season for the second straight postseason. Cal Stark hit two homers, including a three-run shot in the ninth to set the Tennessee single-season record with 159.

Dylan Dreiling had a game-changing at-bat

Dylan Dreiling led off the sixth after Tennessee fell behind 3-2 in the fifth against Southern Miss (43-20). The sophomore worked into a full count before impressively taking a pitch barely off the plate away for a walk.

Hunter Ensley followed with a double to left before Tears bashed the tide-turning homer for a 5-3 lead. Dreiling hit a solo homer leading off the seventh, his second homer in the regional. UT hit five homers Sunday to bring its total to 12 in the series and set a new single-season record with 159.

Dean Curley getting going is a major development

Dean Curley hadn't homered since April 7 at Auburn entering the regional. He hit a two-run homer to get Tennessee going Saturday against Indiana. He hit another two-run homer Sunday.

The freshman had back-to-back two-hit games in the regional Saturday and Sunday.

Zander Sechrist battled through tough luck

Tennessee pitcher Zander Sechrist's start included being hit by a 105 mph liner, a would-be inning-ending double play ball hitting a runner, and the throw on another potential double play hitting a runner.

The junior battled through 4⅔ innings. He allowed three runs but no earned runs. He had allowed four hits and walked three with three strikeouts.

LIGHT: Meet Carlee Beam, the brightest light at Tennessee baseball's Lindsey Nelson Stadium

Sechrist departed in the fifth inning. Billy Amick made an error at third before a walk. USM's Dalton McIntyre lined a ball at shortstop Curley, but it struck a USM runner for an out and a dead ball preventing a likely inning-ending double play. USM's Ozzie Pratt hit a two-run double on the next pitch for a 3-2 Golden Eagles lead.

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 allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball punishes Southern Miss, advances to super regional