KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball was well-represented in D1Baseball.com’s Midseason Report, which was released on Thursday afternoon.
The Volunteers had four members of the team recognized by the publication, including head coach Tony Vitello, who was tabbed as the nation’s Top Coach at the midway point of the season after leading UT to its best overall start (28-1) and best SEC start (9-0) in program history.
True freshman standout Chase Burns was named the Top Pitcher and the Top Freshman in the country, on top of being named to D1Baseball.com’s Midseason All-America Team. Fellow freshman weekend starter Drew Beam and junior outfielder Drew Gilbert were also named to the midseason All-America team.
Burns and Beam have been two of the top pitchers in the entire country this season, regardless of class, as both enter this weekend’s series against Missouri with perfect 6-0 records, tops in the SEC. The duo also ranks one and two in the conference in ERA and opponent batting average. Beam’s 0.88 ERA is the fourth lowest in the nation while Burns ranks sixth in the SEC with 52 strikeouts. Both freshman were also named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List earlier this week.
Gilbert has once again been one of Tennessee’s top hitters this year, ranking second in the SEC and sixth nationally with a .446 batting average. The Stillwater, Minnesota, native, also ranks among the top five in the SEC in slugging percentage (4th – .815), on-base percentage (2nd – .557) and doubles (t-3rd – 11). His 31 RBIs rank second on the team and tied for seventh in the SEC despite missing seven games with an injury earlier this season.
To view D1Baseball.com’s full midseason report, click HERE.
Four Vols Earn Midseason Recognition from D1Baseball.com
