SEC commissioner Greg Sankey reacts to Christian Moore's historic cycle in Omaha
Christian Moore had a historic cycle on the first game of the Tennessee Volunteers in the College World Series 2024. The Vols defeated Florida State 12-11 in their opening act of the Omaha tournament, with Moore being one of the heroes for the SEC school. He registered his first cycle in postseason, and sixth with the Vols.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey took to X to celebrate the victory of the team that's seen as the favorite to win the national title. Sankey made a specific reference to Moore's efforts with a simple tweet:
Moore himself shared some exciting remarks with the press after the game.
"Through the whole game, the only mindset I have is to win, get on base for my team, set the tone. I have really good hitters behind me, so I just want to get on for them. Really, to be honest, I didn't know I did it. I was just so hyper-focused on winning and just that next task."
Moore capped off his cycle in the most iconic way possible, with a home run. He hit a 440-foot missile that helped Tennessee cut a deficit in what was steadily becoming a Volunteers rally. The Vols would end up winning the game on Dylan Dreiling‘s walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth.
Tony Vitello on meeting Christian Moore
Vitello, who's leading Tennessee on its first back-to-back appearance to the College World Series, spoke with the media in a post-game press conference.
One of the subjects he touched upon was his first meeting with the star second baseman Christian Moore or rather his not meeting him. Here's the anecdote of the first time he saw him play:
"I went to one game in the middle of nowhere, in Georgia, and he didn't say hi to me. I don't [know] if he knew it was me or not... He was pitching in that game. He was a pitcher, athletic kid, infielder that we recruited."
He also touched upon the fact that Moore rejected good offers from MLB teams to come and play college ball at Tennessee, something unusual in the sport. Moore's batting average during the game was .385 and he also had an on-base percentage of .460.