Tennessee baseball staved off elimination Monday afternoon, knocking off Stanford 6-4 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
The Vols fell behind 4-0 early before evening the game with a four-run fifth inning before taking the lead with a two-run seventh inning.
Chase Burns was fantastic in relief for Tennessee, allowing just two baserunners while striking out nine batters in six innings pitched.
Here’s what Tennessee players said after the win.
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Chase Burns
On handling Stanford’s strong offense
“That offense is really talented. So me coming in there, me and Coach A had a game plan going into it and just following that game plan and sticking to it 100 percent.”
On his mindset when he entered the game
“Coming out of the bullpen, you’ve got one thing in mind, it’s just do your job. No fight is too big for us. Just going to go out there, do my job, hope for the best.”
On what’s suited him well coming out of the bullpen
“That’s hard to say. There’s a lot that goes into it. I love energy. 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.”
On facing Stanford for the first time and them facing him for the first time
“Definitely. I don’t know if they have a pitcher in their conference that’s kind of like me. They were putting good swings on my fastball — and slider, too. So I used all my pitches today to get ahead in the count and did the job.”
Jared Dickey
On what allowed the team to have offensive success in the fifth inning
“Just putting together quality at-bats. Obviously a really good pitcher. Done really good things this year. Credit to him for that. I think we just started to calm down a little bit, realized we’re never out of the fight. I think we started to come together as a team like we always do later in the games.”
On Chase Burns outing
“I said it last year when we were playing at Ole Miss, we’re really lucky to have this guy on this team. Super special guy, hard worker. Even better guy off the field. It’s extremely special to have a guy like this in our program. 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.”
On if he made any adjustments with the wind blowing in
“I think it was during that fifth inning, whenever we were rallying, you’re hearing V(itello) shout-out from the dugout hands out on top. Whenever he does that, hands out on top, obviously, hit line drives. We knew if we hit the ball in the air it wasn’t going to do anything. There’s probably one or two guys on our team that could get it out of there today.”
On this team’s fight
“It’s super special. Like I said earlier, we’re never out of the fight. A special group of guys that have been through a lot this year. We kind of huddled together before the game and told each other let’s not let today be our last day. I think we all took that and ran with it. Just coming together in the right time and it’s super special what we’ve done.”
Christian Moore
On if his routine changes any not knowing the next opponent
“No. We’ll find out before we go to sleep tonight but no I don’t think it changes. I think you approach ever team the same. It’s win or go home right now so you kind of have to go in there with that mindset.”
On what Chase Burns had working
“Everything. 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.”
On what it’s like facing Burns when he’s in this much of a rhythm
“Honestly, I’ve never faced him when he was like this so I don’t know. I faced him this past fall and he’s made a lot of strides from last year to this year. I honestly couldn’t tell you. I’ll let you know next fall when I face him.”
On Burns adjusting to a new role in season
“He got comfortable in his skin and got confidence. 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.”
Zane Denton
On what the difference was offensively in the fifth inning
“Staying with our process. We know what we’re playing for. We’re one game away from going home so it’s just playing for each other and good things happen when you play for each other.”
On what it’s been about the past couple weekends where they come from behind
“It feels like it’s been a theme of our whole year, just battling adversity so it’s nothing new. We know how to cope with it. We know how to play through it. Just playing for each other.”
On what makes the team so good hitting with two outs
“I’m honestly not sure. It didn’t help me tonight. I swung at a pitch that hit my knees. Can’t really speak on that.”
On Cal Stark stringing together good at-bats
“Super happy for him. He hasn’t had too much success lately but he’s been grinding, grinding through it and he’s had some bad luck so just keep going.”
Drew Beam
On what it means to him to get to pitch in the CWS
“I’m excited. I love to compete so I get to go out there and do my thing and be on the mound is what I strive for and want everyday.”
On what it was like watching that fifth inning
“It was awesome. I knew it was going to come. The guys were seeing the ball well and were talking about it, giving each other good information in the dugout. I knew it was a matter of time before we started getting some barrels, hits with runners in-scoring position and it happened in the fifth inning. It’s a good thing that we get to play tomorrow.”
On what’s changed for Chase Burns since moving to the bullpen
“I don’t think much. I think he’s a lot more relaxed on the mound and enjoys getting out there and playing like everybody else does. He’s just getting out there, doing his job and embracing the role. He enjoys doing it.”
On what it’s been like watching him hit his stride
“It’s been awesome. 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.”
On what’s gone well for himself in the postseason
“I’ve been commanding my pitches well. Offspeed has been working pretty well for me lately and we’ve had a really good game plan these last weeks, how we’re going to attack certain hitters and how we’re going to attack the zone and stuff like that. It’s just been good all around. Coaches, players, everybody’s been working well together.”
On the emotions of not knowing whether he’d get to pitch in the CWS
“I want to pitch, obviously, but it was all about this game. All about this game and I was just another guy on the bench pulling for the guys that were on the field at that moment. Really wasn’t thinking too much about it.”
