No. 8 Tennessee (14-1) defeated Illinois (5-7), 6-3, on Friday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.
Friday’s contest was the first of a three-game series between the Vols and Fighting Illini.
AJ Causey started for Tennessee and pitched six innings. He recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed six hits, one earned run and one walk. Causey totaled 104 pitches, including 66 strikes, against 25 batters.
Tennessee totaled nine hits against Illinois. Billy Amick, Dylan Dreiling and Cal Stark hit home runs for the Vols.
Game No. 2 will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST and can be watched on SEC Network+.