OMAHA, NE. — In Tennessee baseball’s season-saving win over Stanford in the College World Series, Chase Burns was the best player on the diamond.
The sophomore reliever was simply brilliant in six innings of work, giving up only two hits and retiring 18 of 20 batters, closing out the game having retired 10 straight.
“He’s a pro,” Vitello said repeatedly following Burns’ performance.
Burns didn’t just look like a big leaguer on Saturday, he looked like a guy who could be pitching in the MLB within a couple of years.
What was working for Burns against Stanford?
“Everything,” Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore said. “Like he always does. Everything working. Fastball, changeup, slider, curve— I think he’s throwing a sinker now, I don’t know but everything was working today and he was dominant like always.”
Like he’s done time and time again in a bullpen role, Burns saved Tennessee’s season.
After a rocky Chase Dollander performance in which the junior surrendered four runs in three innings, Burns entered the game in the fourth inning with Tennessee trailing 4-0.
Burns stymied the Cardinal while the Vols’ offense got to starter Quinn Mathews in the fifth, ultimately chasing him from the game.
Tennessee tied the game with four runs in the fifth inning off of six singles.
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Entering the bottom of the fifth, the slate had been wiped clean. It was a new ballgame. With both aces gone and Burns on the mound for Tennessee, the Vols had the clear advantage.
Burns is no stranger to shining in big moments. The Gallatin, Tennessee, native was phenomenal in a 99-pitch relief outing against Clemson before shutting the door on Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Super Regional Final to send his team to Omaha.
Burns’ energy in his postseason appearances has been on another level, something Vitello noted was significant in Tennessee’s ability to mount the comeback.
“He changed the energy of the game when he came in,” Vitello said. “To be honest, since he started to come into games, instead of starting, he’s completely changed the vibe when he’s out there. The guys get energy from it.”
“I love energy,” Burns unsurprisingly noted after the win. “So coming in this game I had a lot of energy. Balling it up, I knew how to go a little bit longer today. It’s a different role. But happy to be in it.”
Those who watched Burns’ reaction after striking out Southern Miss’s Matthew Etzel on a 102 mph third strike know what kind of energy Burns brings to the table. Coming out of the bullpen has brought out a type of energy and fire Burns never quite displayed as a starter.
“It’s extremely special to have a guy like this in our program,” Tennessee outfielder Jared Dickey said. “He does great things for us. He showed you today that if you put your mind to something you can do whatever you want to do. So credit to him for a great outing.”
After a handful of poor starts in the first month of SEC play, Tony Vitello moved Burns to the bullpen. The decision has paid off and then some.
“He got comfortable in his skin and got confidence,” Moore said. “I think, like I said to him (another reporter), in college all you need is confidence. You got confidence and you can go out and do a lot of things. He has the confidence and y’all are just seeing what we already knew he had so I think for him he keeps his head straight and he’ll be just fine.”
“It’s been awesome,” Tennessee pitcher Drew Beam said on watching Burns excel out of the pen. “He’s closed the door on some big games and has kept us in some big games and has been a big key to our success so far.”
The sophomore has not only been one of the best relievers in the postseason but pitchers period. And Vitello believes he may be the best.
“It’s the second time he’s gone up towards a hundred pitches in the playoffs,” Vitello said. “I’m prejudice, but [Burns] might be the best guy in the whole thing. And trust me I know the guy the other night we faced (LSU’s Paul Skenes), how good he is, and that’s why it was nice to be in our dugout today.”
Burns first showed how dominant he could be in a bullpen role in April against Vanderbilt. The sophomore allowed one hit in three innings of relief as the game went into extra innings, setting up Griffin Merritt’s eventual walk-off home run that changed Tennessee’s season.
Fast forward nearly two months later, Burns has boasted a 0.56 ERA so far in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee’s flamethrower has given up just eight hits and one earned run in four appearances, striking out 22 batters and walking five in 16 innings.
“I file [Burns] under the category of he’s one of the best pitchers on the planet, amateur status,” Vitello said. “And he’s just getting us outs because, again, we’ve got a starter. It will be interesting, if we can keep playing ball, it will be interesting when his next lump of innings comes. Does it come at the beginning of the game or the middle or at the end?”
