KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Drew Gilbert homered for the third straight game and No. 3 overall seed Tennessee beat No. 3 regional seed Liberty 3-1 in the Knoxville Regional final on Sunday night.
The Volunteers (48-16) beat Liberty twice during the regional and advanced to their first Super Regional since 2005. They will host a best-of-three series next weekend against the Eugene Regional’s Oregon-LSU winner.
Gilbert’s two-run home run in the fifth inning made it 3-0 for Tennessee. He was named the Most Outstanding Player for the regional with his walk-off grand slam in a 9-8 win against Wright State on Friday night helping the Vols avoid a difficult path through the losers bracket.
Tennessee starter Will Heflin (3-3) allowed one run and four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Sean Hunley took it from there, allowing one hit for his eighth save of the season.
Fraser Ellard (0-1) got the loss for the Flames (41-16)
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