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First pitch: 2 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPNU / Click here (FREE)
TV Crew: Tom Hart (PxP), Chris Burke (Analyst), Ben McDonald (Analyst), Kris Budden (Sideline)
Listen: Click here (FREE)
Live Stats: Click here
Starting Lineup:
Here’s three quick takeaways from Tennessee’s win.
Tidwell and Hunley struggle
There were some unfortunate breaks that went Tennessee’s way in their season-ending loss to Texas on Tuesday, but the Vols didn’t help themselves on the mound.
Freshman right-hander Blade Tidwell started and struggled with his command throughout his outings. Tidwell gave up three earned runs on two hits and walked two over the course of three innings of work.
Both of Tidwell’s walks led off innings and Texas scored each time.
Sean Hunley relieved Tidwell to start the fourth and he immediately gave up a leadoff walk as well. It led to a three-run fourth inning that gave Texas a commanding 7-4 lead. The Longhorns wouldn’t look back.
Bats go quiet
Tennessee struck first, scoring two runs in the second on an RBI double from Jordan Beck and RBI groundout from Pete Derkay. It gave the Vols a 2-0 lead before Texas left fielder Eric Kennedy hit a three run homer in the bottom of the inning to give his team a one-run lead.
After Texas tacked on a run in the third to make it 4-2, Tennessee scored two in the fourth to tie it at 4-all. Connor Pavolony and Liam Spence each hit an RBI single.
It would be the end of the road for the Vols’ offense. They wouldn’t score the rest of the way and only two runners reached over the final five innings. During those five final frames, the Vols went down in order three times.
What's next?
All eyes now turn to Tony Vitello. It was a historic season for the Vols, but now their biggest matchup is potentially fending off LSU in order to keep their baseball coach.
LSU would need to offer, but Vitello is most certainly on their radar. Tennessee will certainly try to get a deal done to lock up their skipper as soon as possible.
The Vols season ended on Tuesday afternoon in Omaha, but the drama won't end for another week or two.
Pregame Notes:
- Tennessee is the away team for today's elimination game.
- Vols are rolling with their typical starting lineup.
Key Plays:
T-2nd: Tennessee 2, Texas 0
Drew Gilbert led off the second inning with a single to center to spark Tennessee's two-run second inning. After Luc Lipcius walked to put runners on first and second with one out, Jordan Beck smacked an RBI double down the left field line. With runners on second and third with one out, Pete Derkay hit an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
B-2nd: Tennessee 2, Texas 3
After Blade Tidwell gave up a leadoff walk and a single to start the inning, Texas left fielder Eric Kennedy hit a two-out three-run homer to give the Longhorns a 3-2 lead.
T-3rd: Tennessee 2, Texas 3
Tennessee stranded the bases loaded with no outs in the third. Liam Spence led off the inning with a single, Max Ferguson walked and Jake Rucker hit an infield single before Drew Gilbert bounced into a 5-2-3 double play. Evan Russell then flew out to center to strand runners on second and third.
B-3rd: Tennessee 2, Texas 4
Blade Tidwell gave up a leadoff walk for the second inning in a row in the third and it came back to haunt him. Texas' Mike Antico then stole second. He was able to take third on a throwing error from Pavolony. A batter later, the Longhorns extended their lead to 4-2 on an RBI groundout.
T-4th: Tennessee 4, Texas 4
Tennessee scored twice in the fourth to tie the game. After a Jordan Beck walk and Pete Derkay single to put runners on the corner with one out, Connor Pavolony hit an RBI single to make it 4-3.
Liam Spence then greeted Tanner Witt with an RBI single to make it 4-4 after Texas pulled Tristan Stevens from the game.
Stevens' final line: 3.1, 4 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, K, 58 pitches (35 strikes)
B-4th: Tennessee 4, Texas 7
Sean Hunley relieved Tidwell to begin the fourth inning.
Texas struck for three runs off of Hunley. The biggest blow came with two strikes and two outs. Texas catcher Silas Ardoin hit a two-run single to make it 6-4. There was a play at the plate on the second run that scored and although replay clearly showed that he was tagged before he touched home plate, he was ruled safe after review. Texas then hit an RBI single to make it 7-4.
So, instead of getting out of the inning trailing 5-4, Texas led 7-4 at the end of the frame because of an incorrect call.
T-7th: Tennessee 4, Texas 8
Texas added a run in the seventh after Eric Kennedy scored on a wild pitch. He reached bases on a single, advanced to second on a ground ball to the pitcher, stole third and then scored on the final pitch.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 19
Game 1: Stanford 4, NC State 10 -- RECAP
Game 2: Arizona 6, Vanderbilt 7 -- RECAP
Sunday, June 20
Game 3: Virginia 6, Tennessee 0 -- RECAP
Game 4: Texas 1, Mississippi State 2 -- RECAP
Monday, June 21
Game 5: Stanford 14, Arizona 5 -- RECAP
Game 6: NC State 1, Vanderbilt 0 -- RECAP
Tuesday, June 22
Game 7: Tennessee 4, Texas 8
