Current:Home > MarketsTennessee baseball completes climb from bottom of SEC to top of College World Series mountain-LoTradeCoin
Tennessee baseball completes climb from bottom of SEC to top of College World Series mountain
View Date:2024-12-23 23:47:04
You had to be there from the beginning to fully appreciate what Tennessee accomplished Monday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Volunteers won their first national championship in baseball with a 6-5 victory over Texas A&M in an all-SEC College World Series finale. But their championship run didn’t begin when they drew a No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA baseball tournament.
It began as an underdog, way back in 2017 when then-Tennessee athletic director John Currie hired Tony Vitello. Tennessee has been on the rise since.
The Vols peaked in 100-degree heat in America’s Heartland. Fittingly, their hottest hitters delivered again.
Christian Moore led off Tennessee’s first inning with his 34th home run. Clutch-hitting Dylan Dreiling finished what Moore started. He hit his third home run of the best-of-three championship series as part of a three-run seventh inning that enabled the Vols to claim a 6-1 advantage.
They took a five-run lead. They didn’t kill the suspense.
Texas A&M responded with two runs in the eighth against Tennessee relievers Nate Snead and Dylan Loy. Then, it was Kirby Connell time.
The fifth-year senior with the most famous moustache in Tennessee sports struck out both Kaden Kent and Ryan Targat with two runners on base to put the Vols within one inning of a national championship. Aaron Combs gave up two runs but struck out three in closing out the victory.
READ ALL ABOUT IT: Celebrate Tennessee's national title with our new book
The Vols didn’t just win a national championship. They won a school-record 60 games. But Tennessee’s baseball ascent is best measured by the losses.
The Vols lost 21 SEC games in both 2016 and 2017. This team lost only 14 games overall.
This was the third Vitello team to win 50 or more games. It also was the first No. 1 overall tournament seed to win the national title since Miami (Fla.) in 1999.
Never mind Tennessee's No. 1 seeding. Or all its success. It still had its underdog moments.
The Vols trailed Florida State by five runs in their CWS opener. They still were down by three in their last at-bat when they rallied for a two-out, 12-11 victory.
Tennessee began the championship round the way they began the CWS – on the wrong side of the score. After losing the opener of the best-of-three series to the Aggies on Saturday, they were behind 1-0 in Game 2 until Dreiling saved them with a two-out home run in the seventh inning
Dreiling’s homer – just like his game-winning hit against Florida State – reminded us: The Vols aren’t just good. They’re clutch.
No comeback was necessary in the championship game. The Vols tacked on two more runs in the third for a 3-1 lead against starting pitcher Justin Lamkin, who hadn’t given up a run in his two previous College World Series appearances across eight innings.
“He wasn’t as crisp,” was how Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle summed up Lamkin’s pitching during an in-game television interview.
Unlike Lamkin, Tennessee starter Zander Sechrist continued his superb pitching in the CWS. He lasted 5 1/3 innings before Vitello turned to Snead with runners on first and second and one out in the sixth.
Snead pitched out of trouble, thanks to first baseman Blake Burke being in just the right spot when Caden Sorrell slammed a line drive into his glove for the third out.
As if Snead didn’t have enough pressure trying to hold Tennessee’s lead, he had to compete with Evan Aschenbeck, one of the top closers in college baseball.
Snead’s big moment came with two on and two out in the seventh, facing Texas A&M’s best power hitter, Jace LaViolette. With two left-handers warming up in the bullpen, Vitello stuck with his right-handed pitcher against a left-handed batter. Snead made Vitello look smart by getting LaViolette on a groundball out.
Aschenbeck couldn’t match that. With two out, he gave up a single to Billy Amick. That gave Dreiling another chance, and he followed with Tennessee’s 184th home run of the season, the second-most in college baseball history.
But they made history in what mattered most.
The final sequence went like this: Relief pitcher Aaron Combs struck out three batters in the ninth, Tennessee fans roared their approval, College World Series MVP Dreiling held up his trophy, and Vitello hugged his father
The seven-year climb from the bottom of the SEC to the top of college baseball was complete.
veryGood! (2)
Related
- Cruise ship rescues 4 from disabled catamaran hundreds of miles off Bermuda, officials say
- New Mexico Supreme Court reprimands judge who advised prosecutors in case involving his daughter
- What the events leading up to Sam Altman’s reinstatement at OpenAI mean for the industry’s future
- The 2024 Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle rocks the boat in our first drive review
- Mike Tyson has lived a wild life. These 10 big moments have defined his career
- French foreign minister holds talks in China on climate and global tensions
- Rebels claim to capture more ground in Congo’s east, raising further concerns about election safety
- Israel-Hamas truce deal for hostage release hits last-minute snag, now expected to start Friday
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- 28 Black Friday 2023 Home Deals That Are Too Good to Pass Up, From Dyson to Pottery Barn
Ranking
- Bitcoin has topped $87,000 for a new record high. What to know about crypto’s post-election rally
- Former St. Louis alderman in fraud case also charged with lying to police
- The White Lotus' Meghann Fahy and Leo Woodall Finally Confirm Romance With a Kiss
- Diamondbacks acquire third baseman Eugenio Suarez in deal with Mariners
- New Jersey will issue a drought warning after driest October ever and as wildfires rage
- Israel unveils what it claims is a major Hamas militant hideout beneath Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital
- Retailers offer big deals for Black Friday but will shoppers spend?
- The Afghan Embassy says it is permanently closing in New Delhi over challenges from India
Recommendation
-
Cruise ship rescues 4 from disabled catamaran hundreds of miles off Bermuda, officials say
-
In political shift to the far right, anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders wins big in Dutch elections
-
Russian consumers feel themselves in a tight spot as high inflation persists
-
Family of American toddler held hostage says they are cautiously hopeful for her return amid deal with Hamas
-
Are Ciara Ready and Russell Wilson Ready For Another Baby? She Says…
-
CSX promises Thanksgiving meals for evacuees after train derails spilling chemicals in Kentucky town
-
To save the climate, the oil and gas sector must slash planet-warming operations, report says
-
Sunak is under pressure to act as the UK’s net migration figures for 2022 hit a record high