Vols advance to College World Series Finals with 7-2 win over Florida State
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tennessee fell flat in its two previous College World Series appearances and in between there was the crushing loss in NCAA super regionals as the No. 1 national seed.
All that has led to this year’s Volunteers putting themselves in position to play for the program’s first national title beginning Saturday.
Tennessee is heading to the CWS finals for the first time in the modern era after it knocked out Florida State with a 7-2 victory on Wednesday to win its bracket.
Zander Sechrist held the Seminoles (49-17) scoreless for six innings and the Volunteers struck for four early runs to become the first No. 1 national seed since 2009 to advance to the best-of-three finals.
“We always say before something happens, something happens,” coach Tony Vitello said. “There’s been a lot of build-up into the successes we’ve had this year and the failures, too, to be honest with you. And it’s been fun to be a part of.”
Tennessee’s win assured an all-SEC finals for the second straight year and third time in four. The Volunteers (58-12) will play Texas A&M or Florida.
The Southeastern Conference will have at least one team in the finals for the 15th time in 16 years. Seven SEC teams have made it since 2009. The fact Tennessee hadn’t been among them had become more frustrating on Rocky Top in recent years. The Vols’ 209 victories and 559 home runs since the start of the 2021 season are the most of any Division I program, after all.
Tennessee made it to a one-game final in its first CWS appearance in 1951, losing 3-2 to Oklahoma. In those days, there were no preliminary rounds in the NCAA Tournament; teams were selected for the CWS based on regular-season performance.