*SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE AT-BAT BY AT-BAT FEED*
Score: Vols 3, Tigers 6 | FINAL
Tennessee baseball (43-20) is set face the LSU Tigers (48-15) in their College World Series opener on Saturday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
First pitch is at 7:40 p.m. ET. ESPN has the broadcast. The original first pitch time was 7 p.m. ET, but a delay in the Wake Forest-Stanford game caused the start time to be pushed back. You can also watch the WatchESPN stream.
If Tennessee wins the game, they will face Wake Forest on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. If Tennessee loses, they will play Stanford Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET.
This is the fourth meeting between the Vols and Tigers this season. LSU won the three-game regular season series in April, winning the first two games.
The Vols are still searching for their first win in Omaha under head coach Tony Vitello. When Vitello took the Vols to Omaha in 2021, Tennessee went 0-2 with losses to Virginia and Texas.
Tennessee enters the College World Series 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament, sweeping through the Clemson Regional before winning games two and three to win the Hattiesburg Super Regional against Southern Miss.
LSU hasn’t lost a game in the tournament. The Tigers swept the Baton Rouge Regional and handled Kentucky in two games in the Super Regional.
For all of RTI’s coverage leading up to the program’s sixth CWS appearance, including the preview podcast and the game that changed the course of Tennessee’s season, click here.
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below.
Starting Lineups
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
SS Maui Ahuna
CF Hunter Ensley
LF Jared Dickey
2B Christian Moore
3B Zane Denton
DH Griffin Merritt
1B Blake Burke
RF Christian Scott
C Cal Stark
Lineup Notes:
–No changes since the last time out for Tennessee’s lineup.
LSU STARTING NINE:
CF Dylan Crews
3B Tommy White
1B Tre’ Morgan
C Hayden Travinski
DH Cade Beloso
2B Gavin Dugas
RF Brayden Jobert
SS Jordan Thompson
LF Josh Pearson
Pitching Matchup
Vols Jr. RHP Andrew Lindsey (3-3, 2.79 ERA, 20 app., 8 starts, 67.2 IP, 55 H, 27 R, 21 ER, 69 K, 18 BB, 1.08 WHIP)
vs.
Tigers Jr. RHP Paul Skenes (12-2, 1.77 ERA, 17 app., 17 starts, 107 IP, 65 H, 26 R, 21 ER, 188 K, 18 BB, 170 opp. batting avg., 0.78 WHIP)
Uniforms:
Tennessee: Dark Mode
LSU: Purple on White
*LSU is the home team*
GAME THREAD
1st Inning:
T1
-Maui Ahuna strikes out swinging.
-Hunter Ensley singles to SS.
-Jared Dickey lines out to 3B.
-Christian Moore strikes out looking.
End of Top Half.
B1
-Dylan Crews grounds out to SS. Nice play by Maui.
-Tommy White strikes out swinging.
-Tre’ Morgan singles up the middle.
-Hayden Travinski flies out to RF in right center.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 0
2nd Inning:
T2
-Zane Denton strikes out swinging on three pitches.
-Griffin Merritt strikes out swinging on three pitches.
-Blake Burke strikes out swinging on a full count. Battled back after falling down 0-2.
End of Top Half.
B2
-Cade Beloso grounds out to 1B unassisted. Nice play by Blake Burke.
-Gavin Dugas crushes a solo homer to LF. Smacked it.
-Brayden Jobert grounds out to p. Nice job by Lindsey to stop it with the backhand, pick it up and fire it to first.
-Jordan Thompson strikes out looking.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 1
3rd Inning:
T3
-Christian Scott strikes out swinging.
-Cal Stark pops up to SS in shallow LF.
-Maui Ahuna strikes out looking.
End of Top Half.
B3
-Josh Pearson singles through the right side.
-Dylan Crews singles through the right side. Oppo base hit.
-Tommy White grounds out to p. Runners advance to second and third.
-Tre’ Morgan connects for an RBI groundout to p. Nice play by Lindsey but a run comes home.
-Hayden Travinski grounds out to first 1b to p.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 2
4th Inning:
T4
-Hunter Ensley singles through the left side. The sophomore is 2-2 so far on the night.
-Jared Dickey flies out to LF.
-Christian Moore flies out to LF. Nice contact from Moore but Pearson makes a very solid sliding catch.
-Ensley is caught stealing at second C to SS.
End of Top Half.
B4
-Cade Beloso strikes out looking.
-Gavin Dugas works a walk.
-Brayden Jobert doubles through the right side into deep left field. Dugas advances to third. Frank Anderson calls a mound meeting. Aaron Combs and Seth Halvorsen warming up in the bullpen.
-Jordan Thompson strikes out swinging.
*Pitching change: So. RHP Aaron Combs (4-0, 2.61 ERA) on to pitch for Lindsey*
-Josh Pearson strikes out swinging.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 2
5th Inning:
T5
-Zane Denton strikes out looking.
-Griffin Merritt singles through the right side. Softly hit single but it finds the gap.
-Blake Burke flies out to shallow LF.
-Christian Scott strikes out swinging.
End of Top Half.
B5
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Seth Halvorsen (3-3, 3.60 ERA) on to pitch for Combs*
-Dylan Crews flies out to RF.
-Tommy White grounds out to SS.
-Tre’ Morgan strikes out swinging.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 2
6th Inning:
T6
*LSU pitchers begin getting loose in the bullpen*
-Cal Stark pop fouls out to 3B.
-Maui Ahuna lines out to CF.
-Hunter Ensley grounds out to SS. Nice play by Jordan Thompson at SS and HECK of a stretch by Tre’ Morgan. It’s a close call and Tennessee will challenge the call. Call confirmed.
End of Top Half.
B6
-Hayden Travinski is walked on a full count to leadoff the inning.
-Cade Beloso flies out to shallow LF as Dickey ran under it.
-Travinski advances to second on a wild pitch.
-Gavin Dugas strikes out swinging.
-Brayden Jobert smokes an RBI triple into the right center gap.
-Jordan Thompson ropes an RBI single right at Maui. Ricochets off of him and goes into shallow LF as Jobert comes home.
*Pitching change: Sr. LHP Kirby Connell (1-0, 3.77 ERA) on to pitch for Halvorsen*
-Josh Pearson grounds out to 1B unassisted. Nearly reached as Burke booted it but was able to grab it and make the tag before Pearson reached first.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 4
7th Inning:
T7
-Jared Dickey flies out to LF in foul territory.
-Christian Moore strikes out looking.
-Zane Denton is walked.
-Griffin Merritt strikes out swinging.
End of Top Half.
B7
*Pitching change: Sr. RHP Camden Sewell (4-0, 3.91 ERA) on to pitch for Connell*
-Dylan Crews gets a double to drop in RF as Christian Scott cannot make the diving catch. Crews makes it all the way to second as the ball rolled out.
-Tommy White singles into left center. Crews advances to third. Frank Anderson calls a mound meeting.
*Hollis Fanning working in the Tennessee bullpen*
-Tre’ Morgan sends a sac fly to CF. Crews scores.
-Hayden Travinski strikes out swinging.
-Cade Beloso works a walk. Runners on first and second.
-Gavin Dugas flies out to the warning track in RF.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 0, Tigers 5
8th Inning:
T8
*Ben Nippolt to 2B for Gavin Dugas*
-Blake Burke lines out to CF.
-Christian Scott smacks a double into the right center gap. First Tennessee runner in scoring position all game.
*Dylan Dreiling pinch-hitting for Cal Stark*
-Dreiling strikes out looking.
-Maui Ahuna knocks an RBI single up the middle.
*Pitching change: RHP Gavin Guidry (3-0, 3.42 ERA) on to pitch for Skenes*
-Hunter Ensley cranks a two-run home run to center field. Massive HR as this is a new ballgame. Ensley’s 7th HR of the season.
*Pitching change: LHP Riley Cooper (4-3, 5.02 ERA) on to pitch for Guidry*
-Jared Dickey legs out an infield single to SS. Dickey was originally ruled out but Tennessee challenged. Call OVERTURNED. Dickey is aboard for the Vols.
-Christian Moore strikes out looking.
End of Top Half.
B8
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Hollis Fanning (0-0, 0.66 ERA) on to pitch for Sewell*
*Charlie Taylor to C for Cal Stark*
-Brayden Jobert smokes a solo homer to RF. Jobert is a single shy of the cycle tonight.
-Jordan Thompson grounds out to SS.
-Josh Pearson grounds out to 1B unassisted. Burke awkwardly slid to make the tag at first.
*Pitching change: Fr. RHP AJ Russell (2-0, 0.94 ERA) on to pitch for Fanning*
-Dylan Crews flies out to left center.
End of Bottom Half.
Score: Vols 3, Tigers 6
9th Inning:
T9
*Paxton Kling to RF for Brayden Jobert*
-Zane Denton strikes out swinging.
-Griffin Merritt lines out to LF.
-Blake Burke reaches on a fielding error by SS. Burke advances to second on a balk.
-Christian Scott lines out to p.
END OF GAME
Score: Vols 3, Tigers 6
FINAL: Tennessee Vols 3, LSU Tigers 6
One Response
Major kudos to Tennessee! Fantastic game. The Vols played hard and made. A game of the contest. They never gave up and for the most part kept their attitude in check.