Tennessee baseball romps Kentucky with late surge, will play Florida for SEC Tournament title

HOOVER, Ala. — It started with a Luc Lipcius single. It ended with a Blake Burke moonshot.

Tennessee baseball woke after a slow seven innings offensively and surged past Kentucky with 10 runs in the final two frames.

The No. 1 Vols (52-7) smashed No. 12-seeded Kentucky (33-26) at Hoover Met, winning 12-2 to advance to their second straight SEC Tournament title game.

"We want that trophy," shortstop Cortland Lawson said. "We want that championship. We are going to come out with a lot of energy.”

Tennessee will face No. 7 seed Florida (39-21) for the SEC Tournament title Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Vols swept the Gators in late April in Gainesville, Florida.

UT lost 7-2 to Arkansas in the SEC Tournament title game last season.

How the Vols rallied in the final two innings

Tony Vitello has lauded the way Lawson hits in the nine-hole. The Vols shortstop showed why in the eighth inning Saturday.

Lawson roped a two-out double into the gap in left-center to score two runs, capping a four-run inning eighth.

“I think it started way before that inning," Lawson said. "We had good at-bats, guys that grinded through at-bats.”

Tennessee and Kentucky were locked in a 2-2 tie for two innings before the Vols erupted late.

Luc Lipcius and Jordan Beck led off the inning with singles. Trey Lipscomb singled to load the bases. UT scored twice without needing a hit — Jorel Ortega was hit by a pitch and Beck scored on a wild pitch. Lawson drove in two after Burke was intentionally walked.

The Vols added six in the ninth after a leadoff single from Jared Dickey and a Luc Lipcius hit by pitch. The pair scored when Drew Gilbert's blooper to shallow left fell between two UK defenders. Gilbert scored on a Lipscomb sacrifice fly.

Burke had the punctuation mark, a three-run shot over the right-field bullpen.

Chase Burns dominates in relief

Chase Burns made his second relief appearance this season for the Vols and he was impressive.

Burns cruised through the final three innings of his 4⅔-inning outing. He struck out two in the sixth and two in the eighth on his way to eight strikeouts. The freshman relieved fellow freshman Drew Beam, striking out a pair in the fourth to end a threat with runners on second and third.

“They pitched their butts off," Lawson said. "Burnsy, he came in and was lights out. His slider was as elite as it has ever been. Big-time spot for them being freshmen.”

Burns gave up a pair of runs in the fifth.

Burns, who served as Tennessee's Game 1 starter for most of the season, made a relief outing against Georgia on May 12. He threw 1⅔ innings against the Bulldogs, striking out three.

"Definitely more comfortable knowing I’ve done it before," Burns said. "(Vitello) talked to me about it so I had my mind ready for it.”

Jared Dickey makes his return

Outfielder Jared Dickey pinch-hit in the eighth for Kyle Booker and lined an opposite-field single to left.

Dickey had not played since April 23 against Florida, when he aggravated a lower leg injury suffered earlier in the season. Dickey was hitting .370 when he was injured. He was UT's leadoff hitter and starting left fielder prior to the injury.

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 topples Kentucky, will play Florida for SEC title