During the last week, Tennessee baseball has gotten back on track.

This has featured a sweep over Vanderbilt and a win over Mississippi State to begin a three-game series.

Two of those wins came in dramatic fashion. With the game on the line, the Vols were forced to hit walk-offs to claim victories.

Pushing Tennessee over the top with a home run in the first game against the Commodores and Bulldogs was Griffin Merritt.

The first shot came in the 12th inning against Vanderbilt. The solo home run completed the comeback after the team entered the ninth inning trailing by two runs.

Then, he let loose a 411-foot bomb in the ninth inning against Mississippi State to silence the Bulldogs' come-from-behind attempt on the following Thursday.

This clutch hitting is becoming a trend for Merritt. In both games, he entered as a pinch-hitter and wrapped up the match with a homer.

“Griffin Merritt is the goat," said teammate Zane Denton after Thursday's walk-off. "I was on deck and I shouldn’t have even gone up there. I pretty much knew what he was going to do. He has done it many times here already. We had a lot of faith in him.”

Merritt claims his age and experience help him in these situations.

The graduate transfer from Cincinnati has previously won AAC Player of the Year and has been in these situations before.

"Probably because I’m old and I calm down," said Merritt. "I’ve had a lot of experience and a lot of at-bats. When I was younger, I remember going up there and you would’ve thought I was going to break the bat in half I was so amped up. But now, I’m just able to calm myself down."

Although Merritt has had plenty of opportunities in late-game situations, the pair of walk-off slams separated by less than a week are the first two of his college career.

The only other walk-off homer that he's hit came while he was in high school.

Due to this, he also credits his preparation for his success.

“It’s preparing the right way," said Merritt. "If you take care of your stuff in these cages and watch your film and you run through your approach on the bench and whether you’re in the game or not in the game, if you’re paying attention, you start to understand what you’re trying to do and you feel prepared and you’re not nervous or too amped up.”

Preparation doesn't just have to be physical, though.

Merritt had a plan when he stepped up to the plate. With KC Hunt on the mound for Mississippi State, he was confident in his approach.

Due to Hunt's high rate of throwing off-speed pitches to right-handed batters, Merritt was on the lookout for a slider.

After talking to assistant coach Josh Elander, he knew if he saw a first-pitch slider he would sit on it for the remainder of the at-bat.

"He threw the first-pitch slider for a ball and I just knew I had him if he put one in the zone," said Merritt. "I was just seeing it up and got a good swing on it.”

This single swing of the bat gave Tennessee the first win of a three-game series vs. Mississippi State.

Now, the Vols will look to down the Bulldogs on Friday to claim the series.

First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. ET airing on SEC Network+. Chase Dollander will get the start.

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