Tears hits big home run and Tennessee rolls into super regionals with 12-3 win over Southern Miss

11 months ago

FILE - Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello reacts to a call during an NCAA college baseball super regional game against LSU, Sunday, June 13, 2021, in Knoxville, Tenn. The Vols, the new No. 1 team in two of the major polls Monday, March 28, 2022, have shown no weaknesses to date. They lead the nation in batting average (.338), home runs (64) and slugging (.683) and are second in scoring (11.1 runs per game). (AP Photo/Wade Payne, File)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kavares Tears hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the sixth inning and national top seed Tennessee poured it on from there, defeating Southern Mississippi 12-3 to win the Knoxville Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee advances to the super regionals, which begin on Friday. The Volunteers trailed 3-2 when Tears came to the plate with two on and one out. He belted a 1-0 pitch from Chandler Best deep to right center for a 5-3 lead.

Tennessee added an RBI groundout by Christian Moore to make it 6-3. In the seventh, Dylan Dreiling led off with a home run and Dean Curley added a two-run shot. Cal Stark went deep for three runs in the ninth.