Tennessee baseball now knows the final team that stands in its way from an appearance in the College World Series finals.
Following Florida State winning a pair of games out of the loser's bracket, the Seminoles will meet with the Vols again on Wednesday. Florida State will need to beat Tennessee twice, though, with the Vols only needing a win in one of two matchups to advance.
First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday due to weather postponing Tuesday night's CWS matchup and pushing first pitch for Tennessee back an hour.
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The Seminoles lost their opening matchup of the event to the Vols in walk-off fashion. Florida State took an 11-7 lead into the eighth inning but Tennessee stormed back with five unanswered runs.
The final blow proved to be a Dylan Dreiling hit to left-center that scored the winning run. Before that, Christian Moore doubled and Blake Burke singled to score the tying run with two outs. Billy Amick recorded a hit, as well, to hand the bat to Dreiling.
The Vols downed North Carolina in their next game to become just a win away from the finals. The Seminoles downed Virginia on Sunday and the Tar Heels on Tuesday in elimination games.
Tennessee enters the final matchup not only at an advantage due to needing just one win, but also more rested. The Vols have played just two games while Florida State has played three. Tennessee also has had two days off while the Seminoles will be playing on back-to-back afternoons.
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If the Vols falter in the first game, a winner-take-all match will be played the following afternoon. The time is not yet set but possible slots are at 2 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET.
Tennessee will pitch Zander Sechrist in game one. He is yet to pitch in the 2024 CWS but was phenomenal for the Vols in game three of the Knoxville Super Regional. He did not pitch in Tennessee's CWS trip a year ago, either.
It is not yet clear who Florida State will opt to start on the mound.
If the Vols win one of the next two matchups and earns a spot in the finals, it will face another SEC squad. Just Texas A&M, Kentucky and Florida remain on the other side of the bracket with the Aggies coming out of the winner's bracket.
Tennessee has not been to the CWS finals since 1951 and have no national championships. It would be the first national title for the No. 1 overall seed since Miami did so in 1999.
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