CLEMSON, S.C. — Tennessee starting pitcher Chase Dollander recorded 13 outs for the Vols against Clemson Saturday night while Clemson starter Caden Grice recorded 26 outs for the Tigers. But it was Clemson who used 10 different pitchers in the 14 inning track meet while Tony Vitello and the Vols used just three.
Pitching depth is the 2023 Tennessee baseball team’s greatest strength and it was on full display at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Saturday night as Dollander, Burns and Halvorsen combined to record 42 outs in the Vols’ 6-5 thrilling victory.
“I mentioned my Dad and the first thing he said — I thought congrats was coming — and he said he would have done a lot of things differently,” Vitello joked about pitching decisions postgame. “I said the same thing.”
Tennessee’s pitching plan was for Dollander to hand the ball to Burns and those two to take the Vols’ to the finish line. But Clemson threw things off kilter when the Tigers ran Dollander from the game with one out in the fifth inning.
Burns picked his fellow preseason All-American up. Grice hit a RBI double on the first pitch Burns threw but from there the sophomore was elite.
Burns recorded 19 outs for Tennessee while allowing just one earned run. He kept the Vols in striking distance while Grice shoved, laying the groundwork for the ninth inning comeback.
“It was his game,” Vitello said.
The right hander wasn’t flawless. He left a 1-2 breaking ball up with two-outs in the ninth inning and Cam Cannarella lined it to right field for a game tying double.
Perhaps Burns’ worst mistakes came an inning later. Grice led off the inning with a lightly hit infield single. The ensuing two batters tried to bunt but Burns walked one and hit the other to load the bases with no one out.
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Burns completed act one of the Houdini act by striking out Blake Wright. Vitello was ready to turn to Seth Halvorsen for acts two and three… until he didn’t.
“I tried to take him out, but he gave me the Heisman,” Vitello said. “I went back to the dugout.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever done that to coach before, but it was a big opportunity and I thought I could go back out there,” Burns said. “I knew my body the best, so when I saw him come out, I waved him off.”
The move worked. Benjamin Blackwell temporarily had a walk-off fielder’s choice but replay turned it into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play. Burns got two more outs in the 11th inning before handing the ball to Seth Halvorsen.
Halvorsen took Tennessee the distance, allowing just one baserunner while recording the final 10 outs for the Vols. Vitello originally planned on using Halvorsen later in the weekend but the Missouri transfer forced his hand and delivered in the big moment.
“Halvy has kind of continued to get better and better as he’s gone,” Vitello said. “I’ll say this: He’s so fiery — and I joked about Christian Moore last night — but Halvy is the same way in that he’s so fiery that, and maybe it’s my fault because follow the leader, sometimes the energy goes in the wrong directions. … You got the best version of some of our guys, including Halvy.”
Not only did Burns and Halvorsen get them past Clemson and into the regional final but it preserved the Vols’ pitching for the rest of the weekend. Needing to win one of its next two games, Tennessee has a number of top pitchers available and more pitching than either Clemson or Charlotte.
