Tennessee baseball secured its spot in the College World Series after a 12-1 win over Evansville. The Vols clinched their spot in Omaha with a showing of pure domination in game three of the Knoxville Super Regional.
Zander Sechrist started against the Aces and pitched a great six and one-third innings, a career-high, while only allowing one run. The Vols bats provided Sechrist plenty of support at the plate, hitting seven total home runs.
The Vols struggled to plate runs on Saturday in their game two loss to Evansville, but that wasn't the case on Sunday. Tennessee recorded twelve hits, seven of which were home runs, and scored in four of the first five innings, including multiple runs in three of those innings.
Christian Moore and Dalton Margo hit two home runs in the series clincher, while Billy Amick, Dean Curley, and Cal Stark hit one home run each. Add six walks to the Vols hit brigade, and they were unstoppable at the plate.
Sechrist's six and one-third innings of work was plenty good enough to let the Vols bats find their rhythm at the plate. He allowed one run and recorded six strikeouts. Nate Snead came in relief after Sechrist recorded the first out in the sixth inning.
The Vols bullpen was flawless on Sunday night. Snead, Dylan Loy, Kirby Connell, and Marcus Phillips combined for two and two-thirds innings of no-hit baseball. After recording the first out of the inning, Tony Vitello pulled Sechrist and Connell, allowing each pitcher to get a well-deserved curtain call.
Tennessee is returning to Omaha for the second straight season and will look to perform better than in past trips to the College World Series. The Vols are 1-4 in their last two trips to Omaha, with their lone win coming against Stanford last season.
With Tennessee's spot now secure in Omaha, we can look ahead to who the Vols will face in their first game there. The date and time of the Vols' first game have not yet been set, but we do know Tennessee will face Florida State in game one.
The Seminoles are heading to Omaha with a 47-15 record. FSU was dominant at home this season, going 32-4. Their success at home allowed them to host a regional and super-regional, but their success on the road was much more sparse. FSU went 8-10 when playing away games but did put together a 7-1 record in neutral site games.
Like the Vols, FSU hosted and swept their regional, setting up a series with UCONN in the Super Regional. FSU put on a clinic on Friday in game one, winning 24-4, and set themselves up to win game two 10-8 in 12 innings.
Tennessee will face another power-hitting opponent to start their week in Omaha, so the Vols' pitching staff will have to make sure they are ready to take on another great team at the plate.