Road to Omaha: Key moments on Vols’ path to College World Series

For the second time in three years and the sixth time in program history, Tennessee will play for a College World Series.

The Vols punched their ticket early Tuesday morning, blanking Southern Miss, 5-0 in a winner-take-all Game 3 at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

The three-game series, delayed three times due to weather, was a microcosm of Tennessee's season. The Vols fell behind 0-1 in the series and faced an early deficit in an elimination game.

It was a fitting way—and the only way—Tennessee was going to reach college baseball's biggest stage. A path riddled with ups and downs and uncertainties leads the Vols (43-20) to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska where they will face LSU (48-15) for the fourth time this season on Saturday 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Less than two months ago, it didn't look like Tennessee would be there, though. Here is a look at the key moments that saved the Vols' season and put them back among the baseball elite.

Tennessee boasted one of the best pitching staffs in the country before the season began. It's why the Vols were ranked No. 2 nationally in the preseason and weren't expected to drop off despite losing a number of key pieces in other areas of the field.

Chase Dollander was back. So was Chase Burns and Drew Beam. Five weeks into SEC play, though, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello considered a change to the rotation.

In the first game of Tennessee's series at Arkansas on April 14, Charlotte transfer Andrew Lindsey got the start, moving Dollander to Saturday while keeping Beam as the Sunday starter and Burns in the bullpen.

The decision arguably changed the trajectory of the Vols' entire season. Despite getting swept by the Razorbacks, Lindsey was dominant the rest of the way, providing Tennessee with an edge in Friday games while bringing in a consistent closer in Burns.

Lindsey went 3-1 as a starter, striking out 69 in 67.2 innings on the season.

Tennessee entered its series against then-No. 4 Vanderbilt on a four-game skid that included a midweek loss to Tennessee Tech.

The Vols were staring down a fifth-straight loss when the Commodores took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning and were down to their last out in the ninth.

Back-to-back solo home runs from Kavares Tears and Dylan Dreiling evened the scored at 3-3 to force extra innings and Burns was masterful out of the bullpen, throwing seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings.

It bought time for Griffin Merritt, who homered to right field to walk-off Vanderbilt and hand Tennessee a season-changing 4-3 win.

Tennessee went on to sweep the Commodores that weekend and began a string SEC series wins on its way to an 11-4 finish in conference play.

After going one-and-done at the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, Tennessee drew tough regional against national 4-seed Clemson, Charlotte and Lipscomb.

The Vols made easy work of Charlotte in Game 1 but had to face Clemson in front of a sold out home crowd at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers had won 17-straight, including the ACC Tournament Championship the weekend before.

Tennessee squandered an early lead and was on the ropes late after Clemson pulled ahead 4-2. Facing a 2-2 count with two outs and a runners on the corners in the top of the ninth inning , Zane Denton mashed a three-run home run over the stands in left field to put the Vols in front, 5-4.

Clemson answered in the following frame to send the game into extra innings and Tennessee had to hold off the Tigers before Hunter Ensley's RBI single helped it to a 6-5 win.

Tennessee beat Charlotte the next day to move on to Super Regionals.

In what was a common postseason theme for Tennessee, the Vols were on the brink of their season ending against Southern Miss on Sunday.

After losing Game 1, the Golden Eagles looked on their way to a CWS berth, getting to Dollander in the fourth inning with a three-run shot that gave them a 4-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, Merritt opened the way for a six-run frame with an RBI single to get Tennessee on the board. Blake Burke followed it up with a 479-foot home run that scratched two more runs across to pull within a run.

Cal Stark drew a two-out walk to keep the inning going and Jared Dickey singled to center to give the Vols the lead.

Dollander recovered, too, holding Southern Miss scoreless the rest of the way and finishing with seven strikeouts in 8.0 innings en route to an 8-4 win that extended Tennessee's season another day.

Tennessee's come-from-behind effort on Sunday force a Game 3 late Monday night.

Merritt singled through the right side to break a scoreless tie in the second inning and Beam got out of numerous jams to preserve a 1-0 lead.

Denton came through with a hit that all but put the game out of reach, mashing a three-run homer to extend the advantage to 4-0.

Southern Miss threatened in the seventh, getting runners on the corners with no outs which ended Beam's night. Burns entered and put the Golden Eagles away for good with a 102 mph fastball that struck out the side.

Burns posted four strikeouts while holding Southern Miss hitless over the last 2.2 innings.

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