Tennessee baseball wins SEC Tournament title vs. LSU, makes No. 1 seed case
HOOVER, Ala. − Cal Stark spun to the Hoover Met crowd, lifted his arms and called for applause.
The Tennessee baseball catcher got the deserved response for his savvy sixth-inning play. Stark dropped to his knees, threw a dart to first baseman Blake Burke, and backpicked LSU's Steven Milam to end a bases-loaded threat.
It was a championship-caliber play and the Vols are SEC champs again because of the timely throw to back up big-time pitching. No. 1 Tennessee topped 11th-seeded LSU 4-3 on Sunday to win its second SEC Tournament title under coach Tony Vitello and its fourth conference crown overall. UT has won a pair of regular-season titles, including a co-title this season.
Tennessee (50-11) will learn its NCAA Tournament fate Monday (noon ET, ESPN2). It is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and a lock to host a regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium for the third time in four seasons.
UT has won five SEC Tournament titles in program history.
Dylan Loy joined the ranks of Tennessee pitchers stepping up in SEC Tournament
Vitello said Saturday that Tennessee needed a pitcher to decide to follow what Andrew Behnke did Friday and what Marcus Phillips did Saturday.
Loy did exactly that. The freshman from Pigeon Forge delivered the best performance of his career. He struck out five in a career-long 4⅔ innings against LSU (40-21). He allowed two hits and walked two while throwing a career-high 78 pitches. He had not thrown more than 50 pitches at Tennessee.
The Cal Stark play that seemed to save the day
Loy departed with a runner on and two outs in the sixth. Behnke walked the next two batters to load the bases and exited in favor of Kirby Connell.
On Connell's second pitch, Stark threw behind Milam at first base and picked the runner off to end the inning. Burke's tag matched the caliber of throw to get the Vols out of the moment.
STEPPING UP: Marcus Phillips grew up for Tennessee baseball vs Vanderbilt. Tony Vitello loved it.
Billy Amick broke out of his funk
Billy Amick walloped the ball twice in Tennessee's semifinal win against LSU but had no hits to show for it. He got his first hit of the SEC Tournament in lofty fashion.
The Vols third baseman got his hands inside a 96 mph fastball and blasted it for a three-run homer to left in the third inning.
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 wins SEC Tournament title vs. LSU behind pitching
