Men’s College World Series final: Tennessee bats come to life and force a decisive third game against Texas A&M

No team scored more runs than Tennessee in Division I college baseball in 2024, but the Volunteers didn’t break through until the seventh inning against Texas A&M in Game 2 of the College World Series final on Sunday.

Left fielder Dylan Dreiling hit a two-run home run off Kaiden Wilson to give Tennessee a 2-1 lead. Catcher Cal Stark added his own two-run shot in the eighth inning to extend Tennessee’s lead to 4-1, which stood as the final score.

With the 4-1 victory, the Vols force a decisive third game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET. Tennessee will try to become the first national first-place team to win the College World Series since Miami in 1999 (when the current format of the NCAA baseball tournament was first introduced).

Facing a best-of-three series elimination, the Vols pulled out the black jerseys in which they had a 9-1 record this season. They are now 10-1.

Dreiling, a sophomore, was Tennessee’s third-leading home run hitter when he came to Omaha. He hit 19 more home runs, had a .330 batting average and a 1.153 OPS. Stark hit nine home runs in his final season, had a .234 batting average and a .921 OPS. His home run on Sunday was his first hit in the College World Series.

The Aggies threatened to tie the game in the ninth inning with back-to-back singles, but Vols relief pitcher Nate Snead got Ali Camarillo to hit a ball into a fielder’s choice at second base, then retired the next two batters with fly outs to secure the win.

Key statistics

Texas A&M’s Chris Cortez took the field in the second inning after opening batter Zane Badmaev. Despite five walks, the junior right-hander allowed no runs and two hits and struck out seven against college baseball’s best Division I offense.

Vols starter Drew Beam struck out seven batters in his four innings, allowing just one run, three hits and two walks. Surprisingly, the offense couldn’t score for him while he was on the mound. The junior right-hander went 8-2 with a 4.16 ERA in 16 starts, posting 80 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings.

Texas A&M lived on the edge of the abyss

The Aggies, seeking the first NCAA baseball championship in school history, opened the game with a home run by outfielder Jace LaViolette. The sophomore led A&M with 28 home runs and 75 RBI on Sunday, while posting a .315 batting average with a 1.220 OPS.

Trailing 1-0, Tennessee had two chances to play with the bases full with two outs, but failed to score a run on either occasion.

In the second inning, a throwing error by Camarillo at shortstop filled the bases, but pitcher Chris Cortez ended the threat by getting Vols hitter Christian Moore to hit a ground ball to second base. Then in the fourth inning, two walks by Cortez filled the bases again, and he escaped with another ground ball to second base by Blake Burke.

The Vols had another chance to tie the score or take the lead in the sixth inning when Cortez allowed a single and a walk with one out. Left-hander Kaiden Wilson came in and got catcher Cal Stark to hit an inning-ending double play.

Texas A&M and Tennessee will play Game 3 for the 2024 Division I NCAA Baseball Championship on Monday at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.