Tennessee forces a third game in the College World Series final with a 4-1 win over Texas A&M

OMAHA, Nebraska (AP) — Tennessee’s Dylan Dreiling hit the game-winning home run in the seventh inning and Nate Snead blocked a Texas A&M scoring opportunity in the ninth inning to force a decisive third game in the College World Series finale with a 4-1 victory on Sunday.

When the teams meet on Monday night, one of the teams will win its first national baseball title and become the fifth consecutive champion of the Southeastern Conference.

Dreiling sent freshman Kaiden Wilson’s 1-1 pitch 390 feet into the right-field seats, giving the Vols (59-13) a much-needed jolt after Texas A&M pitchers limited their stellar offense to four hits.

At that point, the Vols had scored 2 of 20 runners in scoring position in the first two final games, and Texas A&M had never trailed in any of its CWS games.

Tennessee built a three-run lead when Cal Stark, its No. 9 hitter, hit a home run in the eighth inning. He was 0 for 16 with nine strikeouts in the CWS before throwing a pitch from Wilson over the left bullpen.

Snead, who earned his sixth save, was brought in after the Aggies’ first two batters hit a single in the ninth inning. He managed a groundout and a flyout before Kavares Tears went to the warning track to catch the fly of pinch-hitter Ryan Targac, who stayed in the park thanks to the onset of wind.

The volumes, who lost the opening game of the final 9:5 Saturday, have not lost consecutive games since March 16-17 at Alabama. They are trying to become the first national No. 1 seed to win the national title since Miami in 1999.

Jace LaViolette’s 29th home run of the season, a team-best, 50th of his career and first of the CWS, gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was also the first RBI in five games for LaViolette, who was playing with a right hamstring injury.

The Aggies had just one runner reach second base against Drew Beam before Aaron Combs (3-1) singled with no outs in the fifth inning to take the lead. They had runners on second and third base with two outs in the sixth inning, but Combs was able to smooth that over by getting Ted Burton to a flyout.

Tennessee caught two runners at first base. Beam intercepted Kaeden Kent in the third inning, and catcher Stark threw the ball to Blake Burke for Ali Camarillo to end the fifth inning. Kent and Camarillo were initially ruled safe, but the decisions were overturned after video review. Stark’s pickoff was his seventh of the year.

Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle decided to make Saturday a bullpen day after the win to rest Justin Lamkin for a possible third game. Lampkin has thrown eight scoreless innings in two CWS starts.

Zane Badmaev learned Sunday morning that he would be making his second career start – and first since 2020, when he played for Tarleton State in what was then Division II. The 6-foot-8, 275-pound Badmaev was substituted for Chris Cortez after allowing a single in the second inning.

Tennessee loaded all bases in the third and fourth innings against Cortez but failed to score a run. Cortez left the field in the sixth inning after allowing a walk on four pitches. An athletic trainer went to the mound to check on Cortez, who appeared to be having problems with his right hand and forearm. Cortez allowed two hits, walked five and had seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Wilson (0-2) came in and hit Stark’s inning-ending double play, but he couldn’t hold off the country’s best home run-hitting team in the seventh and eighth innings.

Dreiling’s home run was his 22nd of the season and his second of the CWS. Stark hit a home run for the 11th time. Tennessee has hit 182 home runs this year, six shy of the 1997 LSU team’s NCAA record of 188.

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