KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Traffic snarled across the University of Tennessee campus earlier this week.
Parking garages swelled to the brim. A sea of orange-clad fans blanketed the campus, and the fraternity houses were in full party mode.
All on a Wednesday, mind you, about the time most people were finishing up their workday.
No, Peyton Manning was not in town for an all-day autograph session, nor were Kenny Chesney or Dolly Parton on campus for a free concert. Josh Heupel didn’t open up a spring football scrimmage, either.
So why all the gusto?
Tennessee’s baseball team — the unanimous No. 1-ranked baseball team for the first time in school history — was playing a midweek game at home against Western Carolina, a game the Vols won handily, 11-1.
The place was sold out, 4,607 strong at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, making it the largest attendance for a Vols midweek game in school history and the fourth-largest for any Tennessee home game.
“We used to come in here, and even for a weekend SEC series, you’d look up into the stands and they wouldn’t be half full,” said Tennessee senior third baseman Trey Lipscomb, who leads the team with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs. “There’s a buzz about this program, about this team, about some of things we’re doing for the first time that has everybody excited.
“The best part is that we’re not anywhere close to playing our best baseball.”
As well as the Vols (24-1) have played, it will likely take their best baseball this weekend if they’re going to win their third straight SEC series and stay atop the college baseball world. Perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt awaits in Nashville for a three-game series that begins Friday night (7 p.m., ESPN2 and ESPN App). The last time Tennessee won a series over Vanderbilt in Nashville was in 2009 when the Vols swept the Commodores.
“You want to get to a point where the challenge every year is what it…
Source : espn
