Christian Moore picked a good time to become Tennessee's all-time home run leader.

With the No. 4 Vols trailing No. 3 Kentucky by a run in the seventh inning of a back-and-forth series finale on Sunday, the junior infielder homered for the 45th time in less than three seasons to draw even with the Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park.

It was one of a number of timely hits that both Moore and the rest of the Tennessee lineup made as the Vols twice overcame deficits to beat Kentucky, 13-11 and pick up its fifth-straight SEC series win.

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Tennessee (33-7, 12-6 SEC) had just two hits, including Moore's two-run home run in the second to tie teammate and previous leader Blake Burke for the record before combining for nine hits over the last four innings.

The Vols, who trailed 6-2 heading into the sixth, scored five runs in the frame to reclaim the lead before Kentucky (32-7, 15-3) took it back in the bottom half. Moore and Kavares Tears each homered in the seventh to put Tennessee back in front for good.

Moore went 4-for-5 with three home runs and six RBIs. His shot with two outs all but put the Wildcats away in the eighth.

Tennessee's performance at the plate overshadowed an abysmal afternoon for the Vols' bullpen, which allowed 17 hits and six home runs, including two in the ninth inning to pull within two runs.

Left-handed reliever Kirby Connell picked up the win to move to 4-0 on the season while right-hander Marcus Phillips recorded the save.

Tennessee

1. Christian Moore (R) - 2B

2. Blake Burke (L) - 1B

3. Billy Amick (R) - 3B

4. Kavares Tears (L) - RF

5. Dylan Dreiling (L) - LF

6. Dean Curley (R) - SS

7. Hunter Ensley (R) - CF

8. Reese Chapman (L) - DH

9. Cal Stark (R) - C

LHP Zander Sechrist

Kentucky

1. Ryan Waldschmidt (R) - LF

2. Emilien Pitre (L) - 2B

3. Grant Smith (R) - SS

4. Nick Lopez (B) - DH

5. Mitchell Daly (R) - 3B

6. Ryan Nicholson (L) - 1B

7. Nolan McCarthy (R) - CF

8. James McCoy (B) - RF

9. Devin Burkes (R) - C

RHP Mason Moore

Where power hitting defined the first couple of innings on Saturday, pitching dominated early Sunday.

Tennessee went down in order in the first two innings while left-handed starter Zander Sechrist adjusted and kept Kentucky scoreless after giving up singles in the first and second.

Cal Stark provided the Vols with their first base runner after drawing a two-out walk in the top half of the third. Moore homered to right in the following at-bat to give Tennessee a 2-0 lead.

Kentucky responded in the bottom frame with Devin Burkes' solo home run, then back-to-back singles put two runners on with one out, but Sechrist was able to get out of the jam and keep the Vols in front at 2-1 through three.

Another 1-2-3 inning from Wildcats starting pitcher Mason Moore put Kentucky back at the plate quickly and Mitchell Daly paid it off with a lead off home run to even the score at 2-2 in the fourth.

A single through the right side followed Daly's homer and ended Sechrist's afternoon, leading to Andrew Behnke coming out of the bullpen with a runner on and no outs. After two hit by pitches, Nate Snead took over one the mound with the bases loaded and just one out.

Another pitching change did little to quell Kentucky's momentum, though. Ryan Waldschmidt doubled to right center to score two runs to put the Wildcats in front for the first time and Emilien Pitre added the fourth run of the frame with a fly out to take a 5-2 lead.

Nick Lopez led off the fifth with a single and Nolan McCarthy scored him a couple of at-bats later to stretch the Kentucky lead to 6-2 before Connell entered to pitch and a double play ended the inning.

Moore provided some life for Tennessee at the plate for the second time, doubling to left and putting two runners in scoring position with no outs in the sixth. Burke came through with a single through the left side that scored Stark and trimmed the Vols' deficit to 6-3.

Billy Amick made it a one-score game with a single and a throwing error allowed him to reach second and score both Moore and Burke with still no outs. Dylan Dreiling drove in the tying run on a single through through the right side to draw even at 6-6.

Pinch-hitting for Hunter Ensley, Cannon Peebles brought in the go-ahead run on a fly out before Kentucky got out of the inning with Tennessee up again at 7-6.

The Wildcats reclaimed the lead in the bottom sixth when Grant Smith homered to right-center off of Connell to score two runs and put Kentucky ahead 8-7.

Tennessee didn't go away. With one out in the seventh, Moore hit his record-breaking home run to tie the game for the third time at 8-8 with a solo shot to right. The Vols weren't done in the inning, either.

Tears joined in on the hit parade with a two-run homer down the line in left that gave Tennessee the lead again and provided a two-run cushion.

McCarthy narrowed the gap with a home run of his own in the seventh, but Moore widened it with his third home run, a three-run blast into left to pull the Vols ahead 13-9.

Nicholson and McCarthy went back-to-back on home runs with one out to shorten Tennessee's lead to 13-11 in the ninth but Phillips closed the door for good with a fly out.

1. Christian Moore home run to put Tennessee ahead in the third inning.

2. Dylan Dreiling ties the game with an RBI single in the sixth.

3. Moore ties the game and becomes Tennessee's all-time home runs leader.

With series win over the SEC Eastern Division leader, Tennessee can continue its push towards first place in the league standings this week.

The Vols will host Western Carolina in a non-conference midweek tilt on Tuesday (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) before playing Missouri in a three-game series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium next weekend.

The series opens on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. followed by Game 2 on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale on Saturday at Noon.

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