Tennessee is back in the College World Series after a 16 year hiatus, but winning games in Omaha won’t be a cherry on top of a magical UT season. It’s the expectation for a group of players that haven’t backed down from a challenge all season.
“I think everyone has kind of settled in and taken a deep breath and been like we’re finally here,” Tennessee left fielder Evan Russell said. “This is an awesome place to be and once Sunday hits or even Saturday we need to get back to playing our game and focusing on the real reason we’re here. We’re not here just to be here, we want to make a statement and see how far we can go.”
Like the regional, the first part of the College World Series is a four team, double elimination tournament. On the Vols side of the bracket is Virginia, Mississippi State and Texas— three schools who are no strangers to Omaha.
Virginia
How they got here: Tennessee’s first matchup of the tournament is a Virginia (35-25, 18-18 ACC) program that’s in the College World Series for the fifth time in 13 seasons, but this is not a Cavaliers team that looked poised for big things halfway through the season.
The Cavaliers lost its first five ACC series before winning six of its final seven series to sneak into the NCAA Tournament as a three seed in the Columbia Regional.
Virginia— the lowest seeded team left in the field— overcame a game one loss in the regional to South Carolina before winning four straight games to advance to the super regional.
UVA followed the same blueprint in the super regional, losing its first game before winning the next two to eliminate Dallas Baptist and punch its ticket to Omaha.
Things they do well: The Cavaliers don’t excel at anything— especially for a College World Series team— but they don’t struggle anywhere either.
Virginia’s pitching is solid and sets up well for tournament play with a deep bullpen. The Cavaliers have three firm starters and six relievers with over 30 innings pitched this season.
The Cavaliers 3.61 ERA ranks 14th nationally while its 2.79 K/BB ratio ranks 36th nationally.
“I think like our club they have some personality to them,” Vitello said of the Cavaliers. “I think it’s kind of based off that experience. Their coaching staff has been together for quite some time. They know how to navigate their way through tough times in the season and also build their team towards playing your best in May. That’s what we all want and what we say but if we could sell that and do it every year we’d make more than a million bucks. It’s a challenge to do that. They found a way to play their best ball at the end and like our team they have a balanced attack. They do have a couple guys who can drive the ball out of the ballpark consistently but it’s an offense that finds a few different ways to score and they do it behind that pitching staff that’s been a big catalyst for them as well.”
One of Virginia’s greatest strengths is its head coach Brian O’Connor. O’Connor has been in Charlottesville for 18 years and has led Virginia to Omaha four times and to one national championship.
Hitters to know: Freshman Kyle Teel has been incredibly impressive for Virginia in his first season, recording a .320 batting average with nine home runs, 40 RBIs and a .518 slugging percentage.
Zack Gelof has been a do it all guy for the Cavaliers, hitting .298 with nine homers, 16 doubles and 11 stolen bases.
Devin Ortiz is one of Virginia’s best power hitters, recording eight home runs and 34 RBIs but the senior is hitting just .284 and is one to watch on how his power translates to the larger T.D. Ameritrade park.
Pitchers to know: For Tennessee it’s as simple as Virginia’s ace Andrew Abbott. The left handed pitcher has an 8-6 record and 3.04 ERA to go along with 152 strikeouts and 30 walks in 100.2 innings pitched.
“We’re playing in a big ballpark against a lefty who I bet his teammates will argue is the best in the country against a program that is very storied and very well versed in Omaha,” Vitello said.
How has Tennessee hit left handed pitching this season? Surprisingly well for a team with five left handed bats in the everyday lineup but still not as good as they hit right handers. The Vols are hitting .261 this season against lefties and .285 against right handed pitching.
In the bullpen, redshirt senior Stephen Schoch (4-1, 2.52 ERA, 35.2 IP) and junior Zach Messinger (3-2, 4.31 ERA, 56.1 IP) have led the way for the Cavaliers.
No. 2 Texas
How they got here: Texas (47-15, 17-7 Big 12) was embarrassed the opening weekend of the season, dropping three games to Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas in the State Farm College Baseball Showdown by a combined 16 runs.
Since then, however, Texas has been dominant, losing just one series the rest of the season— Texas Tech— while also showing they can handle SEC competition by sweeping South Carolina in early March.
The Longhorns earned the No. 2 national seed and haven’t disappointed. Texas swept through the Austin Regional, winning three games by an average of 9.33 runs.
Texas caught a break in the super regional when South Florida came out of the Gainesville Region as a four-seed. The Longhorns took care of the Bulls in two games to punch their ticket to Omaha for the first time since 2018.
Things they do well: Texas does just about everything well but its pitching staff has been its calling card this season.
The Longhorns rank first in the nation in ERA (2.89) and third in WHIP (1.13). Texas starting pitching has been dominant with all three starters recording ERAs under three.
At the plate, Texas should fare well in a big ballpark. The Longhorns ranked only 51st nationally with 63 home runs but they hit the ball into the gaps ranking 12th nationally in doubles while working competitive at-bats and the second most base on balls in the country.
The Longhorns also have a pair of really good base stealers in Mike Antico (39 stolen bases) and Eric Kennedy (17 stolen bases).
Batters to know: Texas bolsters a lineup with three players with double digit home runs and four players hitting over .300.
Leading the way is junior Ivan Melendez, who is hitting .321 with 12 home runs, 46 RBIs and a 1.046 OPS. Senior Cam Williams numbers look similar, going deep 11 times while hitting .303 with a 1.020 OPS.
Senior Zach Zubia is the final Longhorn with double digit home runs, recording a .300 BA, 10 home runs and a team high 57 RBIs.
Freshman Daly Mitchell hits in the two spot for Texas, earning a .321 batting average and 15 doubles in his first collegiate season.
Pitchers to know: Texas ace is junior right hander Ty Madden. Madden has a 7-4 record and 2.41 ERA while striking out 119 batters in 100.2 innings pitched.
While Tennessee won’t see Madden in a potential game two, the Vols could see him later in the tournament.
If Tennessee were to play Texas on Tuesday of the tournament, RHP Tristan Stevens would be the most likely starter they’d face. Stevens has an impressive 11-3 record with a 2.97 ERA. Stevens is a pitch to contact pitcher, striking out just 74 batters in 103 innings. The larger T.D. Ameritrade Park should play to the senior’s advantage.
Texas' final starter is LHP Pete Hansen. Hansen started the season in a reliever role before becoming the Longhorns final weekend starter. The sophomore has a 9-1 record and 1.84 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched this season.
No. 7 Mississippi State
How they got here: The Vols only familiar foe on their side of the bracket is Mississippi State (45-16, 20-10 SEC). The Bulldogs responded from a disastrous SEC Tournament that saw them eliminated by Tennessee in a 12-2 run rule by winning the Starkville Regional in three games, defeating Samford, VCU and Campbell.
Mississippi State won a hard fought super regional at home against Notre Dame, eliminating the Fighting Irish in a decisive 11-7 game three.
Things they do well: Much like Virginia, Mississippi State is really solid across the board.
The Bulldogs power hitting has led their offense as they’ve recorded 70 home runs (31st nationally) and 112 doubles (28th nationally). Mississippi State also has perhaps the best position player in the tournament in Tanner Allen— more below.
The Bulldogs have five players with double digit home runs— something that should be interesting to monitor in Omaha
On the mound, Mississippi State has a really solid one-two punch in its weekend rotation while bolstering one of the better top end bullpens in the field.
Batters to know: SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen leads the way for Mississippi State at the plate. The right fielder does it all for the Bulldogs, hitting .397 with 10 home runs, 67 RBIs, nine stolen bases and a staggering 1.097 OPS.
Center fielder Rowdey Jordan is the only other Bulldog hitting over .300, recording a .326 batting average with 10 home runs and nine stolen bases.
Logan Tanner leads Mississippi State with 14 home runs while hitting .284 with 47 RBIs.
Kamren James is another do it all guy for the Bulldogs, hitting .274 with 11 home runs, 58 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
Pitchers to know: Tennessee has already faced Mississippi State ace Christian MacLeod in Hoover, scoring five earned runs off of him in four innings. The Vols likely wouldn’t see MacLeod until later in the tournament as Will Bednar is the more likely game two pitcher for the Bulldogs.
Bednar has been even better than MacLeod statistically as the two have formed one of the best one-two pitching duos in the SEC.
Bednar has a 7-1 record and 3.53 ERA while striking out 113 batters in 74 innings this season. Bednar pitched in relief of MacLeod against Tennessee in Hoover, allowing five hits and three runs in two innings.
Landon Sims has been overshadowed by the tremendous season Kevin Kopps had but the Mississippi State reliever is having a truly special season.
Sims has a 1.15 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 46.1 innings pitched. What’s even more remarkable is that Sims gave up four of his eight earned runs this season in a low leverage relief appearance against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.
If you take out that outing, Sims has a 0.78 ERA.
