CWS 2024: Tennessee, Texas A&M address media ahead of finals showdown

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Two programs from the Southeastern Conference will square off in downtown Omaha this weekend in the Men’s College World Series finals.

No. 1 Tennessee (58-12) and No. 3 Texas A&M (52-13) — a pair of teams that have been widely considered two of the best in the country all season — are just one step shy of reaching the pinnacle of the college baseball mountain.

A best-of-three series will determine the national champion, set to take place at Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon and, if necessary, Monday night as well.

Both squads enter the championship series unbeaten in the College World Series thus far. Tennessee squeaked out a 12-11 thriller over Florida State in the opening matchup last week before cruising to a 6-1 win over North Carolina and downing the Seminoles again in the semifinals, 7-2.

“We’re fortunate,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said in a press conference Friday. “Obviously, you’ve gotta get some breaks along the way. The old cliché, you’ve got to make your own breaks, too. So whatever combination it’s been, we’ll take it. I know one ingredient, combination, whatever you want to call it, has been our fan base has been phenomenal. So I’m looking forward to seeing those folks here.”

Tennessee’s offense has been the talking point of their run through Omaha, having put up a whopping 25 runs in three outings. The Vols have five players in their lineup with at least 20 home runs this season.

“Something that I know that we talk about a lot was in the fall, Coach V mentioned, I might get it wrong, but there was this player who thought their whole goal for the whole season was to be locked in for every single pitch,” said Kavares Tears, who has had one of Tennessee’s hottest bats this postseason. “I think that’s something that for me personally I have tried to do and I’ve definitely talked to some of our other guys out there about that. And I think collectively as a group, I think we do that pretty well.”

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

CWS 2024: What you need to know about this year’s College World Series

Find information on game times, tickets, parking and more.

While Tennessee has relied largely on its lineup to get to this point, Texas A&M has showcased its arms, having only allowed three runs total in this year’s CWS. The Aggies knocked off Florida 3-2 in their first game, followed by a 5-1 win over Kentucky and another victory over Florida in the semifinals — this time, a 6-0 shutout.

During Friday’s media availability, the Aggies said there’s one man who has served as the biggest catalyst for their success on the mound this year: pitching coach Max Weiner.

“The first thing [Weiner] obviously talks about is dominating the zone because we have to be in the zone first to give us a chance,” said Texas A&M pitcher Ryan Prager. “I think it’s because it’s so simple and consistent throughout the year, we know what we want our pitches to do and what we want them to look like. And that’s what we try to get them to every week. Once we get that, it goes straight to being in the zone and just competing.”

But even with all of the excitement and accolades the 2024 CWS has provided to this point, now, the slate is clean.

Both teams enter Saturday night 0-0, needing to win two of the next three games to take home the sport’s most coveted prize: the national championship trophy.

“I’m super excited for our players,” Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle said in Friday’s presser. “They’ve earned this opportunity. As you know, we’ve been through a lot throughout the course of the year, as all teams have that made it this far. [We’re] ready to play. Two off days is great but we’re ready to get back on the field. Looking forward to get back to practice today.”

The Vols and Aggies only met once in the regular season, a game that saw Tennessee triumph 7-4.

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