Tennessee hopes to rebound from loss in elimination match vs. Stanford
After fighting through the Clemson Regional and Hattiesburg Super Regional to earn a spot in the 2023 Men's College World Series, Tennessee was greeted by No. 5 LSU in the opening match.
On the mound for the Tigers was Paul Skenes. The pitcher is projected to be one of the first players taken off the board in the upcoming MLB Draft and proved why in LSU's 6-3 victory.
Skenes was virtually untouchable through seven innings before finally being rattled in the eighth. He finished with a stat line of 7.2 innings pitched and two earned runs on five hits.
Possibly his most impressive stat, though, was the 12 strikeouts he managed throughout the game.
Although the strikeout number was high, the Vols aren't worried that it will translate into their next match. With the season on the line, Tennessee is set to meet No. 8 Stanford with the Cardinals' ace Quinn Matthews on the bump.
"Haven’t really looked into anything about Stanford yet, but I think we just do what we did tonight," said Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley. "Obviously, had quite a bit of strikeouts, but a lot of positives to take from those at-bats. We’re looking to Quinn Mathews tomorrow and get a game plan ready and attack that."
Designated hitter Griffin Merritt echoed Ensley's attitude and approach for the team's following game. He recognizes Skenes' excellence but also is prepared to not let an outing like that happen again against Matthews.
"Obviously strikeouts aren’t good, but let’s be realistic," said Merritt. "(Skenes) is probably going to break the all-time strikeout record for a given season. So give and take with that. We’ll just get back into our prep work and get ready for Stanford. Matthews is a good arm and somebody else we’ll have to prepare well for."
What plays into Tennessee's confidence despite the loss is the success the team had at the plate to end the game. In the final 1.1 innings of play, the Vols recorded all three of their runs on three hits. This included a massive home run from Ensley who finished with three hits on the night.
This approach at the plate and ability to fight in the face of adversity gives the team extra motivation for their match against Stanford. The players have faith in each other and know they can get it done.
"You have to take little victories," said Merritt. "I was proud of the way we fought in the eighth and ninth inning. And it gives us a little bit of boost and momentum to have a good practice tomorrow and get our prep work in and get ready to play a good team on Monday."
Ensley takes the same mentality into the match, as well.
"Yeah, same thing, I mean we always know offensively we’re one inning away from a big inning and getting right back in the ball game," said Ensley. "But I think we’re pretty confident going into Monday and we’ve got a bullpen that’s ready."
While the offense prepares to attempt to put together a full game of success, the Vols will rely on Chase Dollander to shut down the Cardinals' bats.
Dollander is also projected to be one of the first players off the board in the upcoming draft but has ran into trouble at times this year. Currently, he holds a 4.50 ERA and 7-6 record.
Despite the lackluster stats, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello has faith in his pitcher. He knows that with the starter along with a dominant bullpen that features Chase Burns, the Vols are capable of making noise in the College World Series in the face of the opening loss.
"I probably have as much confidence in (Dollander) as anybody else on the staff," said Vitello. "And one of the guys mentioned too, we’ve got a bullpen that’s basically gotten us here. So in combination with that and our position players getting after it, got plenty of faith in this group. If we were to have lost faith about halfway through the year, we’d be recruiting for about two or three weeks by now."
With both squad's season on the line, Tennessee and Stanford will square off on Monday at 2 p.m. ET in Omaha. The game will air on ESPN.
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