Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary of when Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello knew he had something special with Christian Moore.
"His freshman year, there was an SEC series on the road where he kind of seemed to be a man possessed," Vitello said to reporters after this past Sunday's 13-11, series-clinching win at Kentucky in which Moore hit three home runs. "He really stuck out."
On April 24, 2022, the top-ranked Volunteers were experiencing an unprecedented season but were enduring a tough series finale at Florida, trailing the Gators 4-1 in the ninth inning. Moore was given the opportunity that afternoon to be the designated hitter, and his two-run single wound up sending the game into extra innings.
In the 11th inning, Moore hit a two-run homer to propel Tennessee to a 6-4 triumph.
The 6-foot-1, 216-pounder from Brooklyn, New York, hit .305 with 10 homers in 51 games as a freshman and followed that up last year by hitting .304 with 17 homers in 66 contests. Through 40 games this year, the second baseman and leadoff hitter has been a "man possessed" on a daily basis, hitting .373 with 19 homers.
Heading into Thursday night's series opener (7:30 on the SEC Network) against Missouri at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Moore leads the Southeastern Conference in league play with 33 hits, 13 homers and 28 RBIs.
"I'm just trying to stay humble and trying to stay even-keeled," Moore said Sunday. "I'm trying to stay into my work that I do every day and try not to change much. I'm just trying to see good pitches up there.
"Defensively, I'm trying to do the same thing, just keep the ball in front of me and make plays."
Tennessee is 34-7 overall, 12-6 in league contests and No. 3 in this week's D1 Baseball poll, and a huge reason for that success is the very top of the batting order. Right behind Moore is first baseman and fellow junior Blake Burke, who has "only" 14 homers and is scorching with a .412 average and a 31-game hitting streak that leads the nation and is a Tennessee record.
Moore's three-homer performance Sunday has given him a program-record 46 for his career, while Burke is next with 44.
"During the tenure of Blake and C-Mo, people want to talk about the accomplishments or the accolades," Vitello said. "In 17 years, nobody is going to remember those, because they might get broken, but there is no way that anyone who wears orange is going to forget what those two guys have done as it relates to just competing, thrilling the fans and also just helping our program win games."
The Vols are an eye-popping 135-38 since Moore and Burke arrived, winning the SEC and earning the NCAA tournament's top overall seed in 2022, and reaching the College World Series last year.
Moore was recognized as college baseball's national player of the week by both D1 Baseball and Perfect Game after going 8-for-11 with four homers and eight RBIs in Tennessee's victories last Saturday and Sunday. He couldn't remember having a three-homer game — "Maybe little league? I know I didn't do it in high school," he said — but those in orange are hoping his performance in Lexington won't be the most memorable of his career but just the latest in a really long line of them.
"He's had a lot of moments, and he's bound to have more, especially at the big-league level," Vitello said. "We are fortunate to have him in the dugout."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.