OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee’s Zander Sechrist will start for the Vols in their Wednesday matchup against Florida State, head coach Tony Vitello shared on Tuesday.
While Sechrist is on his third trip to Omaha with Tennessee baseball, the matchup against Florida State will be his first ever appearance in a College world Series game.
“Last year he didn’t get an opportunity to throw here,” Vitello said. “So for my peace of mind I, I’m anxious to see him out there on the mound and he will start for us. And then, you know how he does, it’s like same thing, every day’s different.
“So when we get out there in the first inning, regardless of who it is, if it’s (Chris Stamos) or somebody else, we’re looking to hunt down three outs as quickly as possible and then we’ll move on to that next inning, whatever it might be.”
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Sechrist enters the College World Series on a roll. Over his last four starts, the left-handed pitcher has allowed just two earned runs in 24 innings pitched (0.78 ERA). Those starts came in a game Tennessee clinched a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship, advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship, clinched a regional victory and a super regional victory.
Over the course of the season, Sechrist has a 4-1 record, 3.26 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 66.1 innings pitched.
The redshirt senior left-handed pitcher is facing a tall task in a strong Florida State team that’s combined to score 27 runs in its first three College World Series games. That includes an 11-run performance against Tennessee that saw the Seminoles’ lineup present issues for AJ Causey and the entirety of the Vols’ pitching staff.
With a win Tennessee advances to the College World Series finals for the first time in program history. If Florida State wins, the two will play an elimination game on Thursday afternoon.
First pitch between Tennessee and Florida State is at 3:06 p.m. ET on Charles Schwab Field on Wednesday afternoon. ESPN is broadcasting the game.
