With Tennessee's baseball season in the books, it's time to take a look back at the year on the diamond.

The Vols had an up-and-down season but ultimately put together a strong finish to be one of the final six teams in the Men's College World Series.

Let's dive into the different stages of the campaign.

To begin the year, Tennessee was considered one of the best teams in the country. The Vols were ranked by most outlets as the No. 2 team in the nation after an extremely successful 2022 campaign.

However, Tennessee lost eight of its typical hitters in its order and a handful of effective pitchers.

Despite this, the returning underclassman talent, incoming transfers and freshmen gave high hopes for the 2023 season.

To kick off the season, Tennessee took to the west for the MLB Desert Invitational.

In the first game of the year, the Vols squared off with Arizona. However, Tennessee didn't get out to the start it imagined as it fell 3-1 in Scottsdale.

Then, the Vols looked to a true road game at Grand Canyon for its first win. Despite the opportunity, the opening victory wouldn't come until the following day against UC San Diego.

After the road trip, Tennessee returned home to play 14-straight games in Lindsey Nelson Stadium before SEC play began. In this stretch, the team went 13-1 with the lone loss coming to Boston College in extra innings.

Following a successful home stand against inferior out-of-conference opponents, Tennessee had momentum heading into its conference slate.

This newly gained confidence was quickly dashed, though. The Vols opened the set with a trip to Missouri where it was swept in three uncompetitive games.

Tennessee did respond with a sweep of its own over Texas A&M at home, though. Despite this, a trip to Baton Rouge was met with a series loss to LSU the following weekend. Things only got worse when dropping two of three to Florida at home and being swept by Arkansas in Fayetteville right after.

With morale at an all-time low, the team fell to Tennessee Tech in a midweek match. The Vols' record sat at 23-14 with a 5-10 mark in conference play.

With the outlook bleak, Tennessee responded in an incredible fashion, though. While hosting Vanderbilt at home, the Vols swept their highly ranked in-state rival to get back on track.

This was followed with another sweep over Mississippi State and a decent showing on the road while losing two to Georgia.

To finalize the regular season, Tennessee went on to take two of three over Kentucky and South Carolina to enter the postseason at full steam.

With a deep SEC Tournament run necessary for the Vols to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee squandered the opportunity.

The team faced off with Texas A&M for a fourth time in the 2023 season after sweeping the Aggies in the regular season. They didn't have the same luck this time around, though.

Instead, Tennessee was taken down 3-0 after recording just a single hit in the match. The quick exit sent the Vols packing back up to Knoxville as it came in the single-elimination round on the first day of the tournament.

At this point, any hopes of hosting a regional were off the table and Tennessee was forced to wait and see where they would travel for their opening NCAA Tournament games.

After the conclusion of the numerous conference tournaments held around the country, Tennessee was given its location for the NCAA Tournament.

The Vols would be tasked with heading to play in the Clemson Regional to join No. 4 Clemson, Charlotte and Lipscomb.

In the opening match, Tennessee took care of business. Andrew Lindsey pitched at a high level against Charlotte and gave the Vols an 8-1 win over the 49ers.

With a trip to the regional finals on the line, Tennessee was then matched up with Clemson. Through eight innings, it looked like the Vols would be handed a loss on the road, however, Zane Denton provided a miraculous swing with the team down to its final strike to take the lead in the ninth.

Although the Tigers forced extra innings, Tennessee outlasted Clemson in 14 innings to win 6-5 and to send it to the regional championship game.

To cap off the successful weekend, the Vols flew past Charlotte in a rematch to claim the regional. The 9-2 win left no doubt as Tennessee made its way to a third-straight Super Regional.

With Auburn losing in its regional, Tennessee was matched up with another unranked team for the Super Regional.

The NCAA committee was forced to make a decision of who would host the set, Southern Miss or Tennessee.

Despite the Vols holding a better resume, the venues being comparable and the weather in Knoxville projected to be much more suitable for a weekend of baseball, they ultimately decided to send the NCAA Tournament to Hattiesburg.

In the first match, the poor weather played a factor. The game was postponed to the following morning after storms hit the area. When resuming on Sunday, Southern Miss finished what it started and won the opening game.

Just a short time after, the teams retook the field for game two. With the Vols' season on the line, it managed to come back from a four-run deficit to force a decisive game three the following day, though.

In this final match, Tennessee shutout the Golden Eagles in a 5-0 win to send the team to the MCWS. This was the team's sixth appearance in the event and second under Tony Vitello.

For the Vols' opening match of the MCWS, they squared off with LSU for the fourth time in the season. After dropping two of three earlier in the year, they couldn't find any more luck, though. Instead, Tennessee was handed a loss to push the team into the elimination bracket.

With their back against the wall, the Vols fell into a 4-0 hole against Stanford in the following game. However, Tennessee managed to climb out of yet another deficit with its season on the line to survive. Ultimately, the Vols scored six unanswered runs to stay alive.

In the next battle, Tennessee found itself in a fifth game against LSU. With a chance to take the bragging rights for the season, the Vols couldn't score a run, though. Instead, they fell 5-0 to have the season come to a close.

Although the preseason expectations were higher than a MCWS exit, the year should be viewed as a success. Tennessee was one of the final six teams remaining in a season where they had to go on the road in the Regional and Super Regional. Things are clearly on the rise for Vitello's program.

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