SCORE: Tennessee 7, Florida State 2 | FINAL (Vols advance to CWS Finals)
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Top-ranked Tennessee baseball (57-12, 22-8 SEC) is set to battle No. 8 seed Florida State Seminoles (49-16, 17-12 ACC) Wednesday in Omaha, Nebraska in the College World Series.
First pitch at Charles Schwab Field is set for 3:45 p.m. ET on ESPN.
First pitch was initially scheduled for 2 p.m. ET then pushed back to 3 p.m. ET due to bad weather on Tuesday that delayed Florida-Kentucky. Florida-Kentucky then lasted longer than expected, pushing first pitch back to 3:45 p.m. ET.
Tennessee will advance to the College World Series Finals with a win over the Seminoles on Wednesday. If the Vols lose to Florida State, the Vols and ‘Noles will play for a third time in Omaha on Thursday in an elimination game with a spot in the College World Series Finals on the line.
This will be the second time the two sides have squared off in Omaha. The Vols beat the Seminoles in an instant classic last Friday night in their CWS opener. The Vols plated four runs in the bottom of the ninth, with Dylan Dreiling hitting a walk-off RBI double to complete the comeback.
Tennessee followed up its win over Florida State with a dominant 6-1 win over North Carolina on Sunday. Florida State has since handled Virginia and North Carolina easily to make it to the CWS Semifinals.
RECAP: Strong Pitching Pushes Tennessee Baseball Past North Carolina In CWS
WINNING: Tennessee Baseball’s Win Over North Carolina Different But Not Surprising
Tennessee is the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. The Vols swept through the Knoxville Regional and won two of three games against Evansville in the Knoxville Super Regional.
Florida State is the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles haven’t lost a game since the ACC Tournament Championship against Duke. The Noles swept their Regional, beating Stetson once and UCF twice, before sweeping UConn 2-0 in the Tallahassee Super.
THE CATCH: Tennessee’s Hunter Ensley Makes Face-Planting Wall Catch During College World Series
STORY: ‘She’s Of Our Cloth’: Meet Beth Schwartz, The Woman Fueling Tennessee Baseball
Tennessee entered the NCAA Tournament matchup coming off an SEC Tournament championship victory to achieve its second tournament title in three years.
While Florida State lost in the ACC Tournament championship game, the Noles posted an impressive 17-12 conference record in an incredibly difficult league. Highlights of Florida State’s season include series wins over Duke and fellow Omaha team NC State along with a midweek win over another Omaha team, Florida.
GESTURE: Tony Vitello Sends Northern Kentucky Manager ‘Mav’ NCAA Regional Banners
TRANSCRIPT: Everything Tennessee HC Tony Vitello Said Before Florida State Rematch
For all of RTI’s baseball coverage so far this season, including the RTI staff’s prediction for Tennessee vs. FSU round two, click here.
For the latest RTI Press Pass baseball podcast, click here. For instant reactions of each of Tennessee’s Omaha wins, click here and here.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball vs. Florida State In CWS Semifinals: How To Watch, Complete Preview
VIDEO: Tony Vitello, Cal Stark, Nate Snead Preview College World Series Semifinal Matchup
Injury Note
-Sophomore RHP AJ Russell is shut down for the remainder of the season and thus is inactive for the College World Series. Russell underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday to repair his UCL. However, Russell is with the team in Omaha.
-RS-Jr. centerfielder Hunter Ensley is nursing a lower-body injury after crashing hard into the wall to make a catch-of-the-year candidate Sunday against UNC. Ensley is IN the lineup but not starting defensively, serving as the DH.
OPTIMISM: Tennessee’s Record Against The Remaining College World Series Teams Proves Optimistic
Tennessee is minus money to win the College World Series, and rightfully so, as the Vols have been the best team all year and have looked impressive so far in Omaha. A win over Florida State on Wednesday would put them in the CWS Finals, and the Vols would likely be able to completely reset their pitching for the weekend series.
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pre-game notes are below, followed by the LIVE at-bat by at-bat game thread.
Starting Lineups
TENNESSEE STARTING NINE:
2B Christian Moore (R)
1B Blake Burke (L)
3B Billy Amick (R)
LF Dylan Dreiling (L)
DH Hunter Ensley (R)
CF Kavares Tears (L)
SS Dean Curley (R)
RF Reese Chapman (L)
C Cal Stark (R)
Lineup Notes:
- Ensley moves to DH as he continues to nurse a lower-body injury he sustained when crashing into the wall Sunday against North Carolina.
- Tears moves to center with Ensley at DH. Chapman gets the nod in right field.
- Order the same as it’s been.
FLORIDA STATE STARTING NINE:
CF Max Williams (L)
3B Cam Smith (R)
RF James Tibbs III (L)
DH Marco Dinges (R)
LF Jaime Ferrer (R)
1B Daniel Cantu (L)
SS Alex Lodise (R)
2B Drew Faurot (S)
C Jaxson West (L)
Pitching Matchup:
Vols Sr. LHP Zander Sechrist (4-1, 3.26 ERA, 18 app., 17 starts, 66.1 IP, 65 H, 28 R, 24 ER, 14 BB, 66 K, 14 XBH, .255 opp. batting avg., 1.19 WHIP)
vs.
Seminoles Fr. RHP John Abraham (5-1, 4.24 ERA, 24 app., 2 starts, 1 SV, 34.0 IP, 18 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 29 BB, 21 K, 9 XBH, .157 opp. batting avg., 1.38 WHIP)
Pitching notes:
- Sechrist continues to start in a game three setting. No surprise Tennessee is throwing its best punch on the mound today.
- Abraham hasn’t pitched in two-and-a-half weeks and has only started two games. His longest outing is 3.2 innings and his highest pitch count is 55 this season. Likely a bullpen game for FSU as they’re rolling the dice, hoping to start ace Jamie Arnold in a possible Thursday game vs. Tennessee.
- Abraham clearly has struggled with command a bit this year but doesn’t give up a lot of hits.
Uniforms
Tennessee: Orange tops, grey bottoms
Florida State: All whites with maroon caps
*NOTES*
- There is NO Run-Rule in NCAA Tournament play.
- Tennessee is the AWAY team because it has been the away team LESS than Florida State has so far in Omaha. This is the first time the Vols have been the away team so far in the 2024 CWS.
GAME THREAD
1st Inning:
T1
-Christian Moore works a leadoff walk.
-Blake Burke ropes a single through the right side. Moore advances to third.
-Billy Amick reaches on an RBI fielder’s choice to 3B as Burke is out at second, 5-4. Moore scores.
-Dylan Dreiling works a walk. Amick advances to second.
-Hunter Ensley rips an RBI single to LF to score Amick. Dreiling advances to second.
- First pitch of the at-bat smoked by Ensley.
*Pitching change: Sr. LHP Brennen Oxford (2-1, 3.31 ERA) on to pitch for Abraham*
-Kavares Tears reaches on a fielder’s choice to 2B as Ensley is out at second, 4-6. Dreiling advances to third.
- Ball took a wicked hop to cause a delay in the second baseman fielding it, as he had to jump to get it. Would have been a 4-6-3 double play if the ball bounced right to the second baseman.
Dreiling scores on a throwing error by P, failed pickoff attempt. Tears advances to second on the error.
- Oxford tried to catch him sleeping, but his errant throw was too low and went to the wall of the camera well, allowing Dreiling to score.
-Dean Curley grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
B1
-Max Williams grounds out to 2B.
-Cam Smith reaches on a fielding error by SS.
- Curley charged a challenging hopper and couldn’t catch the ball off the second hop. Probably should have let it come to him.
-James Tibbs III pops up to SS in shallow LF.
-Marco Dinges flies out to the warning track in right-center.
- Tremendous leaping catch by Tears at the wall. Did his best Hunter Ensley impression as he crashed into the wall. Not as hard as Ensley did but still a heck of a play.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 3, Seminoles 0
2nd Inning:
T2
-Reese Chapman grounds out to 2B.
-Cal Stark strikes out swinging.
-Christian Moore drives a single to left-center.
Moore advances to second on a balk.
-Blake Burke sends an RBI single through the right side to plate Moore.
- 2-2 day so far for Burke. He’s 6-11 so far in the CWS.
-Billy Amick slaps a single up the middle. Burke advances to third.
-Dylan Dreiling strikes out looking.
- Strike three was outside per Trackman. Poor call by the home plate umpire.
END OF TOP HALF
B2
-Jaime Ferrer lines out to 3B.
- Rocket from Ferrer right to Billy. Things going Tennessee’s way so far.
-Daniel Cantu strikes out swinging.
-Alex Lodise is walked on four pitches.
-Drew Faurot reaches on a throwing error by 2B. Lodise advances to second, advances to third on the error. Faurot out at second trying to reach second on the error, 1-6.
- Burke saves the day with a heads up play. Going to get the ball near the Tennessee dugout and firing the throw on time to Curley.
- Moore initially tried to get the out at second but bobbled the grounder. Realizing he was no longer able to get the out at second, he turned to throw to first, but it sailed well over Burke’s head.
- Ugly play from CMo, but Tennessee is still able to get out of the inning thanks to Faurot’s base-running mistake.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 4, Seminoles 0
3rd Inning:
T3
-Hunter Ensley flies out to CF.
-Kavares Tears strikes out swinging.
-Dean Curley grounds out to SS.
END OF TOP HALF
B3
-Jaxson West knocks a single into shallow left-center.
-Max Williams smacks a double down the LF line. West advances to third.
-Cam Smith reaches on a fielder’s choice by SS as West is out at home, 6-2. Williams advances to third.
- Great play by Curley. Good decision and throw to home.
-James Tibbs III grounds into a 1-6 double play to end the inning.
- Burke made a nice jumping catch on the hopper, tags first, then fires the throw to Curley for the double play.
- The tag at second beat Williams coming across home plate.
- Important because it wasn’t a force out at second, so if Williams scored before Curley tagged Smith at second, the run would have counted.
- Some great defense by Tennessee that inning. One of the better defensive innings of the season
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 4, Seminoles 0
4th Inning:
T4
-Reese Chapman pops up to SS in shallow LF.
-Cal Stark draws a walk.
-Christian Moore slices an RBI triple to deep right field.
- Stark scores all the way from first as Moore’s speed moved him all the way around.
- What an at-bat and speed display from Moore there.
- Moore is a HR and double away from the cycle.
- Moore has 7 hits in 12.5 innings against Florida State so far in Omaha.
-Blake Burke strikes out swinging.
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Joe Charles (1-0, 6.52 ERA) on to pitch for Oxford*
-Billy Amick flies out to the warning track in left-center.
END OF TOP HALF
B4
-Marco Dinges flies out the wall in left-field.
- Nice catch by Dreiling at the wall. Smacked into it. Not nearly as hard as Ensley or Tears, but still a good catch.
-Jaime Ferrer pops up to LF.
-Daniel Cantu strikes out looking.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 5, Seminoles 0
5th Inning:
T5
-Dylan Dreiling strikes out looking.
-Hunter Ensley lines out to 3B.
-Kavares Tears grounds out to 2B.
END OF TOP HALF
B5
-Alex Lodise flies out to LF.
-Drew Faurot grounds out to SS.
-Jaxson West grounds out to SS.
- Great pick by Burke at first.
- Sechrist has retired 7 straight FSU batters.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 5, Seminoles 0
6th Inning:
T6
-Dean Curley lines out to 1B.
-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging.
-Cal Stark strikes out swinging.
END OF TOP HALF
B6
-Max Williams grounds out to 2B.
- Nice job by Moore to slide and stop a hard-hit grounder.
-Cam Smith strikes out looking.
-James Tibbs III singles to CF.
-Marco Dinges reaches on a fielder’s choice to 2B as Tibbs III is out at second, 4U.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 5, Seminoles 0
7th Inning:
T7
-Christian Moore grounds out to 3B.
-Blake Burke flies out to the warning track in left-center.
-Billy Amick doubles down the LF line.
-Dylan Dreiling smokes an RBI single to RF to score Amick.
Dreiling steals second, advances to third on a throwing error by C.
-Hunter Ensley grounds out to P.
END OF TOP HALF
B7
-Jaime Ferrer flies out to deep RF.
-Daniel Cantu smacks a solo homer to the Tennessee bullpen.
- First earned run Sechrist has given up in the NCAA Tournament.
-Alex Lodise drives a solo homer into the Tennessee bullpen.
*Pitching change: Sr. LHP Kirby Connell (4-1, 3.91 ERA) on to pitch for Sechrist*
-Drew Faurot grounds out to SS.
-Jaxson West grounds out to P.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 6, Seminoles 2
8th Inning:
T8
-Kavares Tears lines out to 1B.
- Absolute rope.
-Dean Curley drops a double in left-center.
-Reese Chapman strikes out swinging, out at first C to 1B.
-Cal Stark strikes out swinging, reaches first on a wild pitch for strike three. Curley advances to third on the wild pitch.
-Christian Moore grounds out to SS.
END OF TOP HALF
B8
-Max Williams cracks a single up the middle.
-Cam Smith grounds into a 1-4-3 double play.
- Ball ricocheted off of Kirby’s glove to CMo, who tagged second base for the force out and threw to first to turn two.
- Odd double play as Williams thought Connell was going to catch the ball and initially went back to first. But the Vols will take it.
-James Tibbs III strikes out swinging.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 6, Seminoles 2
9th Inning:
T9
*Pitching change: Jr. RHP Conner Whittaker (5-0, 5.22 ERA) on to pitch for Charles*
-Blake Burke smokes a leadoff homer to right-center.
- 20th HR of the season for Burke. 5 Vols have now hit 20 home runs, an NCAA record.
- Six players in UT history had hit 20 or more home runs before this season. Five have done it this year.
- No exit velo or distance on that one. Ball was crushed too far, I guess.
-Billy Amick flies out to CF.
-Dylan Dreiling lines out to SS.
*Cannon Peebles pinch-hitting for Hunter Ensley*
-Peebles pops up to shallow CF.
END OF TOP HALF
B9
*Pitching change: So. RHP Nate Snead (10-2, 3.14 ERA) on to pitch for Connell*
-Marco Dinges singles to P.
- Hit off of Snead’s hand/arm and ricocheted to Billy. Snead seems fine.
-Jaime Ferrer strikes out swinging after a 10-pitch at-bat. Snead wins the battle.
-Daniel Cantu pops up to SS.
Dinges steals second.
-Alex Lodise lines out to SS.
END OF BOTTOM HALF
Score: Vols 7, Seminoles 2
END OF GAME
FINAL: Tennessee Vols 7, Florida State Seminoles 2
