Christian Moore ties Tennessee baseball single-season home run record with 24

Christian Moore didn't fathom matching the Tennessee baseball single-season home run record when he jotted down his goals for his junior season.

Moore did exactly that, though, Tuesday when he lofted his 24th homer of the season to right-center at Lindsey Nelson Stadium to tie the record.

"I think it is pretty cool," Moore said. "I try not to think about (records) while I'm playing. It is something you kind of look back at when you're older and be like, 'Wow, I can't believe I did that.'"

The Vols second baseman equalled Sonny Cortez's 1998 record with his sixth-inning blast as No. 1 Tennessee (43-10) routed Belmont (24-28). The homer was the 51st of his career, which also is the program record.

Tennessee hosts South Carolina in the final regular-season series starting Thursday (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).

Where Christian Moore ranks in Tennessee baseball record books

Moore has at least seven more games to break the record as Tennessee has at minimum three-game series, two games in the SEC Tournament, and then a regional appearance.

"If I break it, I break it," Moore said. "That would be cool, too. Obviously, I want to win right now and keep this going with this team. After the fact, I will look back on it and and kind of reflect on it."

Moore got within one of Cortez's record with a pair of homers in Tennessee's series win at Vanderbilt. His homer in the second game of the series gave him 23 after he reached 22 with a homer in the opener.

Trey Lipscomb threatened Cortez' mark in 2022. He hit 22 in his final season at UT before he was drafted in the third round by the Washington Nationals. Lipsomb and Cody Hawn were tied for second in UT history for single-season homers. Hawn hit 22 in 2009. Chris Burke (2001), Todd Helton (1995) and Chuck Barclift (1980) each hit 20 in a season.

Moore reached the 20-homer mark against Missouri on April 25 after getting to 19 with a three-homer game at Kentucky on April 21. He never envisioned getting to that mark this season.

“Staying humble, staying hungry and just staying to my work, staying to my approach," Moore said. "I think for me when I try to overswing or do too much, bad things happen. Coach V told me today, 0-for-3 before that homer, just try to hit a line drive. I did and it snuck out. Just try to stay short to the ball.”

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Christian Moore has three double-digit homer seasons in his Vols career

Moore was a part-time starter on Tennessee's vaunted 2022 team. He largely served as the designated hitter and made it count. He hit 10 homers in 118 at-bats in 51 games with 29 starts.

He smacked 17 as a sophomore, the second-most on Tennessee's College World Series team.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Christian Moore ties Tennessee baseball single-season home run record