HOOVER, Ala. — There was likely no other spot Kavares Tears would have rather been in.

A day after going 1-for-4 and striking out three times, the Tennessee right fielder already had an RBI double in the 1-seed Vols' SEC Tournament elimination game against 4-seed Texas A&M on Thursday, but was facing an 0-2 count with one out and runners on first and second in a one run game in the bottom of the seventh inning.

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Tennessee had already squandered a few opportunities with runners in scoring position to that point, but Tears left little doubt when he sent Josh Stewart's pitch deep into Aggies bullpen in left field to open up a four-run lead and headline the Vols' 7-4 win at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

That moment and a plethora of others like it this season are where Tears thrives best and it's why Tennessee (47-11) is still alive in the tournament.

"I think anything that relates to doubt, failure, adversity, that's when (Tears) takes his passion and directs it," Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. "He's had some blowups in the dugout—he's done a good job of not being a distraction with it, but it can be a home run or a hit...But he's got a furnace in there. He's got a lot of fire to him."

Tears directed his passion at the right time.

Tennessee dropped its SEC Tournament opener to Vanderbilt on Wednesday as one of the most productive lineups in the league struggled to fine momentum in a game that felt more like a midweek match up than a postseason bout between two rival teams.

If there were any doubts of whether the Vols, who are a lock for one of the top three national seeds in the NCAA Tournament next week, weren't interested in being in Hoover this week, Tears silenced them with one swing.

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The All-SEC Defensive Team selection has been a weapon for Tennessee in the outfield, but Tears has had to battle his way through a talented lineup offensively.

He dropped to the six hole behind the clutch-hitting Dylan Dreiling earlier this month but instead of sulking he took it as a challenge, making the most of the spot against in the Vols' series-clinching win over South Carolina last week.

He did it again when Tennessee needed it most.

"I think a lot of it is just faith in each other. If somebody doesn't get it done, then you have 100% faith in the guy behind you that he's going to get it done," Tears said "So just believing in each other I think has played the biggest role."

Tennessee will face 5-seed Mississippi State (TV: SEC Network) in another elimination game on Friday. A win would secure a spot in the tournament semifinals on Saturday.

A similar performance from the Vols' offense could get them there. So could the kind of approach that Tears has had in the last week.

"If you accumulate all the at-bats overall, there's no question they were better (than the Vanderbilt game)," Vitello said. "It is good they didn't get discouraged, but they've been very mature...You don't have to get too excited about one day, and you don't have to get too frustrated with another day with this group in particular."

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