Tennessee off to College World Series after 12-1 win over Evansville
Vols make seventh College World series berth
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tennessee advanced to its seventh College World Series in program history thanks to a 12-1 win over Evansville on Sunday. It’ll mark Tony Vitello’s third trip to Nebraska in four years.
The Vols are now 5-1 all-time in Super Regionals.
It’s certainly been a successful season for the Vols. If you ask Vitello, it’s not just because the team is headed to Omaha; it was a success because of how the team played and the mentality players had going into their matchup against Evansville. He made that explicitly clear to the media Sunday.
The Vols will face Florida State at 7 p.m. on Friday for its first game of the College World Series.
7:00 ET first pitch between Tennessee and Florida State on Friday. #Vols
— John Sartori (@JohnSartoriTV) June 10, 2024
Live updates from the game are below:
TOP FIRST INNING
Dean Curley’s 12th error of the year put an Evansville runner on first to open the game.
Following the error, Zander Sechrist punched out back-to-back batters for the first two outs of the day.
A two-out infield single put runners at first and second.
A two out single through the right side put Evansville up first | Evansville 1, Tennessee 0
Sechrist forced a flyout to center to end the first, stranding runners at first and third.
BOTTOM FIRST INNING
Christian Moore cleared the porches on the fourth pitch of the game to tie things up | Tennessee 1, Evansville 1
Blake Burke reached second on a single and error in the Evansville outfield.
Burke would end the inning stranded at second after a Hunter Ensley popout.
TOP SECOND INNING
Sechrist’s third strikeout of the day became the second out of the inning for Evansville.
An infield single to first extended the inning.
A popout to short ended the inning.
BOTTOM SECOND INNING
Dean Curley hit the Vols’ second solo homer of the day to give Tennessee its first lead | Tennessee 2, Evansville 1
Dalton Bargo followed it up with a home run of his own as Tennessee hit back-to-back homers for the second straight day | Tennessee 3, Evansville 1
After back-to-back walks put runners at first and second, Nick Smith came on in relief for Evansville.
Blake Burke doubled down the leftfield line to extend the Tennessee lead to three | Tennessee 4, Evansville 1
Billy Amick added to the lead with an RBI groundout | Tennessee 5, Evansville 1
TOP THIRD INNING
Zander Sechrist retired the side in order in the third.
BOTTOM THIRD INNING
Nick Smith sat the Vols down in order for the first time.
TOP FOURTH INNING
Evansville put runners at first and second with a one out single and an error on Christian Moore.
An infield single loaded the bases with two outs.
Zechrist escaped without allowing a run thanks to a groundout to second.
BOTTOM FOURTH INNING
Dalton Bargo led off the inning with his second home run of the day to tie Tennessee’s largest lead of the weekend | Tennessee 6, Evansville 1
Christian Moore joined the multi-home run club with his second home run of the day | Tennessee 7, Evansville 1
After a Blake Burke double, Billy Amick added to the lead with a two run home run | Tennessee 9, Evansville 1
Following a walk to Hunter Ensley, Jakob Meyer took over on the mound.
Ensley was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.
TOP FIFTH INNING
Zander Sechrist posted another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth.
BOTTOM FIFTH INNING
Kavares Tears led off the inning with a single to leftfield.
Cal Stark launched Tennessee’s seventh home run of the day to give the Vols a ten-run lead | Tennessee 12, Evansville 1
TOP SIXTH INNING
Another 1-2-3 inning from Sechrist in the sixth sent Tennessee to the plate with an 11-run lead.
BOTTOM SIXTH INNING
With a runner at first, Evansville went to the bullpen. Max Hansmann became the fourth Purple Ace pitcher of the evening.
The Vols stranded a pair to end the inning.
TOP SEVENTH INNING
Zander Sechrist was removed after a masterful 6.1 innings of work, allowing one unearned run on six hits. Sechrist struck out six Purple Aces.
Nate Snead came on in relief of Sechrist, recording the final two outs of the inning.
BOTTOM SEVENTH INNING
The Vols stranded two runners in the seventh.
TOP EIGHTH INNING
Dylan Loy came into end the eighth inning.
BOTTOM EIGHTH INNING
The Vols went down in order.
TOP NINTH INNING
Kirby Connell came on to open the ninth, striking out the only batter he faced.
Marcus Phillips recorded the final two outs to send the Vols to Omaha.
FINAL | TENNESSEE 12, EVANSVILLE 1
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