Live updates on the College World Series: Tennessee vs. Florida State
Florida State gets its second chance against Tennessee at the 2024 College World Series.
And if the Seminoles are successful, they will get a third chance.
FSU, which opened the tournament in Omaha with a heartbreaking and controversial loss to the top-ranked Volunteers, will play for its third season in four days on Wednesday. After the loss to Tennessee, FSU beat ACC opponents Virginia (7-3 on Sunday) and North Carolina (9-5 on Tuesday) to stay in the race.
The Vols haven’t played since Sunday, when they beat North Carolina 6-1. That win came two days after they erased an 11-7 deficit in the eighth inning and scored four runs in the ninth to escape with a 12-11 win over the Seminoles. In that game, Tennessee’s Christian Moore became the first player since 1956 to hit a cycle in a College World Series game.
The controversy came in the bottom of the ninth inning when Tennessee’s Blake Burke controlled a hit that Florida State thought was a game-ending strike 3. Instead, the umpire at third base signaled for Burke to hold back, and the junior first baseman followed with an RBI single that tied the game.
Follow us for updates and analysis on Tennessee-Florida State at the College World Series:
Tennessee and Florida State have had some of the best offensive lines this season, but the Seminole hitters have not been able to get past Zander Secrhist.
The veteran left-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, and recording two strikeouts. He threw just 54 pitches.
Florida State begins to lose the lead after Tennessee scores another run in the fourth inning.
Christian Moore hit the ball down the right field line for a three-run homer that scored Cal Stark from first base. The fifth run of the game led to Florida State substituting pitcher Brennen Oxford for Joe Charles.
The team facing elimination had a solid start until the end of the third inning, but Tennessee’s strong defense and Florida State’s poor baserunning kept the Seminoles from scoring.
Jaxson West opened the inning with a single and Max Williams hit a double to put runners on second and third base without making an out. Cam Smith hit a bullet to shortstop Dean Curley, and he made a smart play, throwing the ball home to put West out at the plate.
In the ensuing at-bat, James Tibbs III hit the ball right to first baseman Blake Burke, who stepped up to first base and made the throw and tag to Smith before Williams crossed home plate, a painful double play for Florida State.
Tennessee was able to bring the game to 4-0 with another run with two outs.
The first two batters of the second inning were retired before Christian Moore hit a single. A balk by pitcher Brennen Oxford moved Moore to second base, and Billy Amick hit a single that brought Moore to his second RBI of the day.
Things are looking good for Tennessee at first.
Florida State tried to respond to the Volunteers’ 3-0 lead, and Marco Dinges hit a deep fly ball to right center field that seemed to score a run, but center fielder Kavares Tears dove into the wall and caught the ball to end the inning in spectacular fashion.
Tennessee needed just three batters to get on the scoreboard, and the Volunteers led 3-0 after the first inning.
Leadoff hitter Christian Moore started the game with a walk and got to third base on a single by Blake Burke. In the next at-bat, Billy Amick hit a ground ball into a fielder’s decision that brought Moore in. Dylan Dreiling followed with a walk and Hunter Ensley scored another run with a single. That was enough for Link Jarrett, as he retired starting pitcher John Abraham after five batters.
Brennen Oxford came in as a reliever for Florida State, but made a crucial mistake when attempting a pickoff at first base. The throw missed, allowing Dreiling to score from third base. Now the Seminoles must play from behind to start the must-win game.
- Date: Wednesday, June 19
- Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
- Cable TV: ESPN
- Streaming: ESPN+, fuboTV, YouTube TV
Link Jarrett is in his second season as head coach of the Seminoles. Before that, he was a two-time national coach of the year at Notre Dame, where he led the Fighting Irish for three years. Jarrett led Notre Dame to the 2022 College World Series, their third CWS appearance in school history. Jarrett’s head coaching career began at UNC Greensboro, where he led the Spartans for seven seasons before taking the job at Notre Dame. Jarrett is a Tallahassee native and was a starter for the FSU baseball team for five years. He met his wife at FSU, where she was a cheerleader for the Seminoles.
Tony Vitello is in his seventh season as head coach of the Vols. This is the second year in a row and third time overall that Vitello has led Tennessee to the College World Series. Vitello played college football at Missouri and immediately became a coach afterward. After assistant coaching jobs at Missouri (2003-10), TCU (2011-13) and Arkansas (2014-17), Vitello was named head coach of Tennessee on June 7, 2017. The Vols have an overall record of 292-111 under Vitello.
The Seminoles will turn to right-handed freshman John Abraham to keep their season alive. Abraham appeared in 24 games this season, but made only two starts. He posted a record of 5-1 with a 4.24 ERA, along with 42 strikeouts and 29 walks in 34 innings pitched.
- Max Williams, CF
- Cam Smith, 3B
- James Tibbs III, RF
- Marco Dinges, DH
- Jaime Ferrer, LF
- Daniel Cantu, 1B
- Alex Lodise, SS
- Drew Faurot, 2B
- Jaxson West, C
First pitch for the Seminoles-Volunteers game was moved to 3:45 p.m. ET after a long Florida-Kentucky game. The Gators defeated the Wildcats 15-4 and will play Texas A&M in their final game on Wednesday night.
- Christian Moore, 2B
- Blake Burke, 1B
- Billy Amick, 3B
- Dylan Dreiling, LF
- Hunter Ensley, DH
- Kavares Tears, CF
- Dean Curley, SS
- Reese Chapman, RF
- Cal Stark, C
Junior second baseman Christian Moore made headlines Friday against Florida State when he became the second player ever to hit a cycle in the College World Series. The first – and last – player to do so was Minnesota’s Jerry Kindall in 1956. Moore’s .384 batting average and .814 slugging percentage are team-highs for players with at least 35 at-bats, and he leads the team with 33 home runs and 72 RBIs.
Veteran left-hander Zander Sechrist starts for the Vols. Sechrist’s 17 starts are second most on the team and he has gone 4-1 with a 3.26 ERA. He has 66 strikeouts and 14 walks in 66 ⅓ innings pitched.
The Volunteers will wear their orange jersey with “Vols” written across the front in white lettering. The team’s social media account calls it “the prettiest shade of orange you’ll ever see.” The orange tops will be paired with orange hats and gray pants.
Tennessee is considered the favorite to win on Wednesday, according to BetMGM’s college baseball odds. Want to bet? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps with sports betting promos for 2024.
Odds as of Wednesday afternoon.
- Spread: Tennessee (-1.5)
- Money line: Pittsburgh (+110);
- Over/Under: 12.5
Elimination games are marked with an asterisk.
. Away teams listed first. All times are Eastern Time.
- Wednesday, June 19 Game 10:
- Florida 15, Kentucky 4 (Kentucky eliminated) Game 11:
- Florida State vs. Tennessee, 3:00 p.m. ET (Florida State elimination game) Game 12:
Florida vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m. (elimination game for Florida)
Thursday, 20 June
- Times will be announced soon. Final, Group 1:
- Only necessary if Florida State beats Tennessee on Wednesday Bracket 2, Final:
Only necessary if the winner of Kentucky/Florida beats Texas A&M on Wednesday
Men’s College World Series Final
- Best-of-three series between the winner of Group 1 and the winner of Group 2. Game 1:
- Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m. Game 2:
- Sunday, June 23, 2 p.m. Game 3 (if necessary):
Monday, June 24, 7 p.m.
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