Current:Home > MyTennessee baseball completes climb from bottom of SEC to top of College World Series mountain -WealthTrail Solutions
Tennessee baseball completes climb from bottom of SEC to top of College World Series mountain
View
Date:2025-04-15 16:37:40
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! (1)
Related
- Beware of giant spiders: Thousands of tarantulas to emerge in 3 states for mating season
- Flag contest: Mainers to vote on adopting a pine tree design paying homage to state’s 1st flag
- Taylor Swift continues to shriek during this song. At first fans thought she was falling.
- 2 months after Starliner launched, astronauts still haven’t returned: See timeline
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
- Zac Efron hospitalized after swimming accident in Ibiza, reports say
- 2 months after Starliner launched, astronauts still haven’t returned: See timeline
- Paris Olympics highlights: Noah Lyles wins track's 100M, USA adds two swimming golds
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Louisiana mayor who recently resigned now faces child sex crime charges
Ranking
- Beware of giant spiders: Thousands of tarantulas to emerge in 3 states for mating season
- A North Carolina Republican who mocked women for abortions runs ad with his wife’s own story
- Why Jordan Chiles' score changed, giving her bronze medal in Olympic floor final
- Christina Hall Takes a Much Needed Girls Trip Amid Josh Hall Divorce
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- 'Whirlwind' year continues as Jayson Tatum chases Olympic gold
- National White Wine Day: Cute Wine Glasses & More To Celebrate
- Zac Efron Breaks His Silence After Being Hospitalized for Swimming Incident in Ibiza
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Christina Hall Takes a Much Needed Girls Trip Amid Josh Hall Divorce
Olympics pin featuring Snoop Dogg is a hot item in Paris
Why Jordan Chiles' score changed, giving her bronze medal in Olympic floor final
The GOP and Kansas’ Democratic governor ousted targeted lawmakers in the state’s primary
Head bone connected to the clavicle bone and then a gold medal for sprinter Noah Lyles
Florida power outage map: Over 240,000 without power as Hurricane Debby makes landfall
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif speaks out at Olympics: 'Refrain from bullying'