There's a new king of the hill on Rocky Top when it comes to the long ball.
First baseman Blake Burke crushed his 41st career home run for Tennessee on Saturday evening for the Volunteers, a part of the Vols' offensive onslaught in their 12-2 7-inning mercy rule win over Auburn on the plains.
The home run passed Luc Lipcius for the most career home runs in Tennessee baseball history. With the Vols leading 8-0 in the fifth inning, Burke deposited a pitch over the left center field wall with a towering opposite field blast.
The home run was the Vols' fifth of six in the game. Dylan Dreiling smacked two, Dalton Bargo also hit two, and Burke and Christian Moore also added one. Moore's was a grand slam with two outs in the second inning that staked the Vols to a comfortable 5-0 lead early. Beam made those runs stand up by allowing just two runs over 7 innings with 8 strikeouts.
Moore's grand slam is particularly noteworthy, as the Vols' second baseman is hanging around Burke on the all-time home run list himself. He's in third place with 39, just two back of Burke.
That should be a compelling race to watch for the rest of the season. If anything, it should motivate a healthy competition between the two. Regardless of who comes out on top, Tennessee's offense should continue to be one of the most explosive in the country, and that's what matters most.
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