Did Tennessee win vs North Carolina? Taking a look at the Volunteers performance in the College World Series
Tennessee made it to the semifinal of the 2024 College World Series. It outclassed North Carolina 6-1 on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Stadium Omaha in Nebraska.
Kavares Tears smacked a three-run home run to the right field off Tar Heels starter Shea Sprague, giving the No. 1-seed Volunteers a 3-0 cushion at the bottom of the fourth inning. Tears capped his memorable night with a double to right that allowed Billy Amick to score in the eighth inning for a 6-1 lead.
Tears finished 2-of-4 with one HR and four RBIs. It was his 20th homer and 61st RBI of the season as Tennessee secured a semifinal berth in the CWS.
Designated hitter Reese Chapman also homered for the Volunteers, who won the game despite lackluster outings from Christian Moore, Blake Burke, Billy Amick and Dylan Dreiling.
The four hit a combined 3-of-13 with three runs and four strikeouts. Tennessee shortstop Dean Curley delivered an RBI single that scored Colby Backus in the sixth inning.
Vance Honeycutt scored the only run of North Carolina in the sixth inning. He smacked a home run to left center field off Drew Beam. It was Honeycutt's 27th homer of the season.
Tennessee's pitchers deliver in a five-hitter, North Carolina hurlers fade in crucial game
Aside from their superb batting prowess, Tennessee relied on an underrated facet of their game — pitching — in their semifinal-clinching victory over North Carolina. Beam, Kirby Connell and Nate Snead pitched nine innings of five-hit ball, allowing only one run. They combined for nine strikeouts and surrendered four walks in the game.
Beam won for the Volunteers, pitching five solid innings. The right-hander allowed four hits, one earned run (a home run) and two walks in 73 pitches. He struck out seven batters to earn his ninth win in 11 starts.
He improved to 9-2 as he pitched five innings of four-hit ball. The right-hander allowed four hits, one earned run and two walks in 73 pitches. He struck out seven batters.
Sprague was tagged for the loss as he allowed four earned runs in four innings. He had six strikeouts and two walks while allowing two home runs and three hits in 79 pitches. Matthew Matthijs, Ben Peterson, Cameron Padgett and Connor Bovair tried to minimize the damage but were tagged with two runs, four hits and three walks respectively in five innings.
North Carolina will be in a must-win game on Tuesday as it takes on Florida State. The winner faces Tennessee in the semifinals. The Volunteers hold a twice-to-beat edge in college baseball's version of the Final Four.