Did Tennessee baseball win? Exploring the final score, the biggest takeaways from the Super Regional Showdown
The Tennessee Volunteers are going to their seventh College World Series. On Sunday night, the Vols defeated Evansville 12-1 to seal their ticket to Omaha, Nebraska, to play for a chance at winning the baseball national championship.
Tennessee, which has never won the natty in baseball, enters as the favorite to win the College World Series.
After briefly stumbling during the second game of the Knoxville Super Regional, the Volunteers thrashed Evansville with an offensive performance of the highest effectiveness, with 12 hits for 12 runs.
First baseman Blake Burke led the lineup in hits, going four for five and recording one RBI. Third baseman Billy Amick only hit one hit in five at-bats but brought in three runs, which made him the most effective batter in the game.
Zander Sechrist got his fourth win of the year, providing a quality start of six innings and just one unearned run allowed. He gave up six hits while striking out six batters.
Crucially, he conceded no walks to Evansville. The Tennessee bullpen did a perfect job with Nate Snead, Dylan Loyd, Kirby Connell and Marcus Phillips providing a combined three innings of scoreless relief.
First back-to-back College World Series trip in program history for Tennessee
The Volunteers sealed their third appearance in four years to the College World Series, earning just their seventh trip to Omaha.
In a season for the record books, Tennessee will have their first back-to-back appearance in the College World Series in program history.
This season has to be considered a huge success, as the Vols have been crowned regular-season SEC champions and SEC tournament champions. Now they enter the College World Series as the No. 1 national seed and the undisputed favorites.
The question remains, though: can coach Tony Vitello finally lead them to the promised land and win the national title?