Christian Moore hit a leadoff home run for Tennessee on Thursday night, and Cal Stark launched a three-run homer in the second inning.
In other words, the No. 3 Volunteers quickly took the mystery out of their series opener against Missouri.
There was no letdown whatsoever for Tennessee after last weekend's thrilling series triumph at Kentucky, as the Vols routed the Tigers 10-1 inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Billy Amick launched two home runs, while Moore, Stark, Hunter Ensley and Cannon Peebles went deep once for Tennessee, which improved to 35-7 overall and to 13-6 in Southeastern Conference play.
"The way we're swinging it now is really good," Stark said. "We need to keep it going and keep pushing forward."
Moore's homer to left-center field was the 47th of his career, which extended his program record.
The Vols got leadoff walks from Dylan Dreiling and Dean Curley to open the second inning, and Stark brought them home with his blast to left-center. Amick's homer to left in the third inning made it 5-0, and Ensley's homer to right in the fourth increased the advantage to 6-0.
Amick's second homer, a three-run shot to left in the sixth, put Tennessee up 9-0.
Peebles made it 10-1 in the eighth.
Chris Stamos got the start for a third straight SEC series opener and nearly worked three full innings before turning things over to AJ Causey, who allowed six hits and a run in six full innings. Causey got the win to improve to 7-3.
Game two between the Vols and the Tigers (19-24, 6-13) is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.