KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee finally has ended the longest NCAA Tournament drought of any Southeastern Conference baseball program by earning its first bid since its 2005 College World Series appearance.
Now the Volunteers want to try to match that 2005 team's accomplishment by also getting to Omaha, Nebraska. Tennessee (38-19) is the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill (North Carolina) Regional that starts Friday.
"We're hungry," designated hitter Evan Russell said. "We're ready for more success. We're ready to start something that hasn't been done here in a long time."
The Vols reached three College World Series and went 699-396 in 18 seasons under former coach Rod Delmonico, who made a congratulatory phone call to current coach Tony Vitello this week.