Tennessee catches up, beats Texas A&M and forces third college game of the World Series

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Dylan Dreiling (8) of the Tennessee Vols hits a two-run home run in the seventh inning to give the Vols a 2-1 lead in Game 2 of the College World Series Championship at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, on Sunday, June 23, 2024. (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)

Tennessee defeated Texas A&M 4-1 in the second game of the College World Series final on Sunday. The Aggies took an early lead when All-American Jace LaViolette hit a home run in the first inning. That was the only offensive effort until the end of the inning. But Tennessee broke through with two two-run home runs by Dylan Dreiling and Cal Stark. The Volunteers fended off the Aggies’ comeback attempt as their bullpen went five scoreless innings.

The series now comes down to a decisive third game on Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Here are six takeaways from Sunday.

Tennessee’s offense finally makes a breakthrough

1. A&M largely shut down Tennessee’s lineup through the first 15 innings of the championship series. The Volunteers scored five runs on 12 hits in Game 1, but missed some big opportunities and left 10 runners on base in a 9-5 loss.

The first six innings on Sunday were similar. Tennessee created a lot of traffic on the base paths but could do nothing to stop it. The Volunteers walked nine runners in the first six innings, leaving them with 0 of 14 runners on base.

At some point, it was always a given that this dam would break. Tennessee averages 9.0 runs per game and has five players with at least 20 home runs. It’s a difficult offense to contain.

And that’s exactly what happened in the seventh inning on Sunday. After Christian Moore opened the inning with a seven-pitch walk, left-hander Kaiden Wilson retired Blake Burke and Billy Amick, both projected to be the first two draft picks next month. But he made an error over the plate to Dylan Dreiling and the sophomore hit a home run to deep right field. The eighth inning was similar, as an error by Cal Stark led to a two-out, two-run home run.

Stark said the volunteers have built a lot of trust in each other over the course of the year and stayed true to their approach at the plate on Sunday.

“We always know we’re one inning away,” Stark said. “We’ve consistently had good at-bats and good things are going to happen at the end.”

“We just knew we had to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year, trying to get good shots and pass the ball to the next guy. The guy behind us has our backs and we can’t try to do too much.”

Coach Tony Vitello said the key for the Volunteers in moments like these is not to make major changes and to trust what they have been working on all year.

“I feel like we’re in the cage more than anybody else,” he said. “So you might as well cash in on your investment in the cage and just use your momentum.”

Cal Stark has his Tennessee moment

2. Stark started the CWS 0-for-16 and went hitless in Tennessee’s first four games and his first three at-bats on Sunday, including an inning-ending double play in the sixth inning.

Two innings later, Stark, Tennessee’s nine-hole hitter, was in a crucial situation again. The Volunteers led 2-1 in the eighth inning and had a runner on base with two outs.

Stark got off to a rough start in his at-bat, falling behind 1-2 and hitting the second pitch so hard that his bat flew out of his hand and sailed toward the backstop. He was able to pick himself up and hit a two-run home run to left field.

This gave Tennessee some breathing room and ended its losing streak at the plate that stretched back to Game 3 of the Knoxville Super Regional.

“Every kid dreams of playing at this stage,” Stark said. “To be able to do that so late in the game was pretty cool and something I’ll never forget.”

Assistant head coach Josh Elander, who works with the catchers, said he keeps telling the Volunteers’ catchers, starting in their first meeting of the school year, to focus on their defense and not worry about hitting. Stark is an excellent defensive player, and he showed that side of his game on Sunday when he threw behind Ali Camarillo to catch him at first base.

Because Stark focuses on defense, Elander said it was not a challenge to keep him under control even when he had problems at the plate.

“I tell them anything offensively is a bonus,” Elander said. “He can change the game with a back pick or whatever. But he’s hit some big (home runs) this year. He’s got some power and he’s more than capable of doing that at any time.”

Stark, a senior, is hitting .209/.350/.515 this season and has just 28 hits. Of those hits, however, 18 resulted in extra bases, including 11 home runs.

Don’t forget the contributions of Drew Beam

3. Drew Beam got Tennessee off to a solid start, holding A&M to one run on three hits and two walks in four innings and recording seven strikeouts.

The Volunteers were down 1-0 and Beam had just allowed a hit and a walk to start the fifth inning, so he didn’t get much of a round of applause from Tennessee fans. However, many fans at Charles Schwab Field stood to applaud Beam, which will likely be the last time. He is expected to be selected in the second round of next month’s draft.

Beam has been a pitcher in Tennessee’s rotation for the past three years. He has been a reliable rock for the pitching staff and will go down as one of the best pitchers in program history. He ranks third on the Volunteers’ all-time list in both starts (50) and wins (26) and has been a key part of the rotation for some of the best teams in program history.

Beam’s legacy at Tennessee will go beyond his statistical accomplishments, as impressive as those are. Vitello said he always enjoyed coaching Beam.

“You never got out of the car and sat in our parking lot wondering if Drew was going to show up to work with the right attitude, if he was going to be receptive to coaching, if he was going to be selfless,” Vitello said. “You always knew he was going to do everything for you on the field.”

Texas A&M opens with unlikely option

4. With sophomore starter Shane Sdao out due to an injury sustained in the Super Regionals, the Aggies had to get creative on the mound in Omaha. On Sunday, that meant right-hander Zane Badmaev, who had thrown just one inning in the NCAA Tournament, had to open for right-hander Chris Cortez.

Cortez began the season as A&M’s midweek starter, but he’s been pitching out of the bullpen since March and has developed into the Aggies’ second-best reliever behind closer Evan Aschenbeck. Although he has top-notch stuff – his fastball reached 101 mph on Sunday and he combines it with a hard slider – he’s more comfortable as a reliever than as a starting pitcher.

So on Sunday, Badmaev got the ball first and threw a scoreless first inning punctuated by two strikeouts. When he allowed a leadoff single early in the second inning, Cortez came out of the bullpen. He threw 4.1 scoreless innings and struck out seven batters. He had to adjust to traffic, as he allowed five batters to walks. However, he hit some key pitches when needed.

Cortez threw 99 pitches, which is a career high. He eventually left the game with a trainer, but said after the game that he was fine and was just dehydrated.

“I’m super proud of Zane,” Cortez said. “It’s not easy to compete in the championship game. He’s the older one. I always struggled as a starter, but he went out there and did his thing.”

The rarely used Kaiden Wilson delivers

5. One of the keys to Sunday’s game was always what A&M would do if its opener and Cortez couldn’t play together for at least seven innings. Aschenbeck threw 46 pitches in 2.2 innings on Saturday night, meaning he was available in a more limited role on Sunday.

Building a bridge to Aschenbeck, especially after Josh Stewart also pitched on Saturday, wasn’t going to be easy for a struggling pitching staff. The answer was Kaiden Wilson, a freshman who had thrown just two innings in the NCAA Tournament.

Wilson pitched well for the most part in the most important moment of his young career. He entered the game in the sixth inning and hit an inning-ending double play. He made a crucial error in each of the next two innings, and was penalized both times by allowing home runs.

“We really like Kaiden Wilson, we think he’s a super talented player,” coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “I thought he shot well except for two shots. He made two errors against a great team and they caught him.”

Game 3 Preparing Pitching

6. Both teams enter Monday feeling good about their pitching plans. Tennessee will turn to left-hander Zander Sechrist, who has been their best pitcher of late. He has gotten off to a good start in four of his last five starts, including Wednesday against Florida State. Sechrist held the Seminoles to two runs on five hits and one walk in 6.1 innings.

Right-hander Aaron Combs, one of Tennessee’s most reliable relievers, likely won’t be available after throwing 63 pitches on Sunday (though he told Vitello he could play Monday). But Tennessee will have right-hander Nate Snead, who threw 15 pitches to secure Sunday’s win. Veteran left-hander Kirby Connell is also always available.

A&M will rely on left-hander Justin Lamkin, who started both wins over Florida in Omaha. He threw eight scoreless innings in the two games, including Wednesday when he struck out nine batters in five innings.

Behind them, A&M did not use right-hander Josh Stewart or closer Evan Aschenbeck on Sunday and was therefore in strong shape for Game 3.

Sechrist and Lamkin both pitched on Wednesday, meaning they’ll get little rest. But Sechrist threw 76 pitches and Lamkin threw 70, and neither team will be afraid to go to the bullpen. The rest factor probably won’t play a big role on Monday.