Tennessee Baseball Stuns Top-Seeded Texas in Extra-Inning Thriller to Punch Ticket to the SEC Tournament Semifinals

In a game that had all the makings of an instant classic, Tennessee delivered one of the biggest upsets of the SEC Tournament, knocking off top-seeded Texas in dramatic fashion with a 7-6 victory in extra innings. The Volunteers, who entered the matchup as underdogs both on paper and in perception, refused to be defined by expectations. Instead, they stormed into the semifinals of the conference tournament with grit, poise, and a timely blend of clutch hitting and resilience under pressure.

The showdown unfolded as a tug-of-war between two elite programs with postseason aspirations and talent to match. Texas, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, brought with it a reputation for dominance, depth, and a well-oiled machine of a lineup that had carried them to the top of the standings throughout the regular season. Tennessee, unranked and largely overlooked entering the postseason, found its stride at just the right time and proved once again that seeding often becomes meaningless once the cleats hit the dirt.

The game began with Texas asserting early control, capitalizing on a shaky first inning from Tennessee starter Drew Beam, who surrendered a pair of runs off back-to-back doubles and a sac fly. But Beam settled in quickly, displaying the kind of composure that’s made him a staple of the Volunteer rotation. Over the next four innings, he scattered three more hits and silenced the Texas bats long enough for his offense to find its rhythm.

And find it they did.

In the top of the third, Tennessee struck back. After Blake Burke drew a leadoff walk and Christian Moore legged out an infield single, Kavares Tears drove a fastball into the right-center gap, bringing both runners home and tying the game at 2-2. It was the first crack in Texas’ armor, and the Vols weren’t done yet. A two-out RBI single from Dean Curley later in the inning gave Tennessee its first lead, a jolt of momentum that reverberated throughout the dugout.

Texas responded the way championship-caliber teams do. In the bottom of the sixth, with Beam out of the game and reliever Andrew Behnke on the mound, the Longhorns strung together three consecutive hits to retake the lead 4-3. But even then, the Vols refused to waver. In the eighth, Moore launched a towering home run to dead center, knotting the game once more and setting the stage for the kind of late-game tension that defines tournament baseball.

As the game moved into the ninth, both bullpens dug deep. Texas right-hander Max Grubbs pitched around a leadoff walk to keep Tennessee off the board, while the Vols turned to closer Nate Snead, who escaped a two-on, one-out jam with a strikeout and a routine grounder to short.

Then came the extra innings.

Tennessee wasted no time pouncing in the top of the 10th. Tears led off with a double, continuing his monster night at the plate, and was sacrificed to third by Cal Stark. A wild pitch by Grubbs, his second of the inning, allowed Tears to slide home with the go-ahead run. But the Vols weren’t content with just one. Following a two-out walk to Curley, Dalton Bargo delivered the biggest swing of the night—a booming double into the left field corner that plated an insurance run and gave Tennessee a 6-4 lead.

It seemed as if the Vols were on the brink of securing their most impressive win of the season. But Texas, ever dangerous, mounted one final charge in the bottom half.

Snead stayed on the hill and quickly found himself in trouble after issuing a leadoff walk and surrendering a single to put runners at the corners. A fielder’s choice brought home one run, and a two-out double tied the game once again, 6-6. With tension at its peak, head coach Tony Vitello turned to lefty Kirby Connell to escape the jam. Connell, a veteran of many high-leverage moments, did just that—freezing Texas’ cleanup hitter with a backdoor slider to strand the go-ahead run at second.

In the 11th, Tennessee answered right back.

Moore, whose fingerprints were all over the game, sparked the rally once again with a sharp single to right. Tears, already with three hits to his name, dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line that Texas failed to field cleanly. Stark followed with a deep fly ball to center, advancing Moore to third. Then, in a textbook display of situational hitting, Burke ripped a sacrifice fly to left that scored Moore and put Tennessee up 7-6.

The final frame belonged to Connell. With ice in his veins, he struck out two of the final three Texas batters and induced a harmless groundout to second for the final out. Tennessee players poured onto the field in celebration, mobbing Connell near the mound as the stunned Texas dugout looked on in disbelief.

For Tennessee, the victory was more than just a ticket to the semifinals—it was a statement. A message that this team, which battled through inconsistency and injuries during the regular season, was playing its best baseball at the right time. Moore finished the night 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored. Tears added four hits and two RBIs of his own, while Bargo’s go-ahead double in the 10th proved crucial.

Coach Vitello, speaking after the game, praised his team’s resilience and execution under pressure.

“This group doesn’t flinch,” Vitello said. “We’ve been in some tough games, and these guys keep showing up and competing no matter who’s on the other side. Texas is a great team. That’s a championship-caliber ball club. But tonight, our guys played like champions.”

He also highlighted the performance of his bullpen, especially Connell and Snead, who combined to pitch the final three innings under intense pressure.

“Our bullpen’s been huge for us down the stretch,” Vitello added. “They’ve embraced every challenge. Kirby coming in and slamming the door like that—it’s what you expect from a guy who’s been through the wars.”

Now, Tennessee turns its attention to the semifinals, where it will face either LSU or Florida, depending on the outcome of their quarterfinal clash. The Vols, riding the high of a signature win, will enter that game with both confidence and momentum—two elements that no stat sheet can quantify, but every championship team needs.

For Texas, the loss sends them to the loser’s bracket, a path that offers no margin for error. With their top seed now reduced to a footnote, they must regroup quickly if they hope to stay alive in the tournament and maintain their standing heading into NCAA Regional selections.

But on this night, the spotlight belonged to Tennessee.

A team that embraced its underdog identity, took the fight to the top seed, and emerged victorious in one of the most thrilling games of the SEC Tournament. In a sport where moments often define legacies, the Vols added a big one to their season résumé—a win that won’t just be remembered for what it meant in the standings, but for how it was earned, with guts, teamwork, and belief.

And for Tennessee fans, this may be just the beginning of a postseason ride that few saw coming but now feels entirely possible.