OMAHA, Neb. (WATE) — The University of Tennessee baseball team reached the final stage of the Men’s College World Series for the first time since 1951 with a 7-2 win over Florida State on Wednesday.
Tennessee got to Florida State’s starting pitcher, John Abraham, quickly. Christian Moore drew a walk to lead things off and Blake Burke followed up with a single as Moore advanced to second. Billy Amick brought home Moore on an RBI groundout to put UT on the board first.
The Vols plated another run thanks to a Hunter Ensley single down the left field line to score Amick. Ensley, who was questionable for today’s game after crashing into the centerfield wall against North Carolina, got the start as the designated hitter and gave Tennessee a 2-0 lead.
Dylan Dreiling then scored on an errant throw for an attempted pickoff as the Vols jumped out to a 3-0 advantage after one inning of play.
Florida State threatened in the bottom of the frame with a runner on. Marco Dinges hit a ball in deep center, but Kavares Tears, who replaced Ensley in centerfield, made yet another catch while crashing into the wall to keep the Seminoles off the board.
Tennessee extended its lead to 4-0 on a Burke RBI single that scored Moore with two outs. Amick followed up with a single to to put runners on the corners, but Dreiling struck out to leave the runners stranded.
The Seminoles had two runners in scoring position to start out the bottom of the third with no outs. Jaxson West was sent home from third on a groundball but Dean Curley threw home and beat him to the plate. James Tibbs then grounded out into a double play and the Vols escaped the threat without allowing a run.
Instead, the Vols added another run in the top of the fourth. Cal Stark drew a walk and then scored on a Moore RBI triple. Moore hadn’t tripled all season long. The junior now has two triples here in Omaha, with both of them coming against Florida State.
The fifth inning was quiet for both sides. The Vols went three up, three down while Sechrist threw a 1-2-3 inning to keep Tennessee’s five-run advantage.
Daniel Cantu put the Seminoles on the board with a solo shot into the Tennessee bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. Alex Lodise followed up with another solo homer to cut the deficit to four runs and Tony Vitello turned to his bullpen.
Zander Sechrist finished allowed five hits, two earned runs and struck out three batters in 6.1 innings of work.
Kirby Connell replaced Sechrist on the mound and forced two groundouts to end the inning.
With one out and Dean Curley on second after a double, Stark struck out but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first for runners on the corners. However, Moore grounded out short to leave them both on base.
Burke hit his 20th home run of the season in the top of the ninth, giving Tennessee five players who have hit 20 or more homers this year.
Tennessee finished as national runners-up in their only appearance in the finals in 1951. They will face off against the winner of Texas A&M and Florida in a three-game series that will begin on Saturday, June 22.
