OMAHA, Neb. – Tennessee and Texas A&M waited nearly eight decades to finally win a men’s College World Series. They can wait one more night.
It’s simple now, after the Volunteers beat the Aggies 4-1 on Sunday in Game 2 of the championship final. One last game – the 73rd of the long season for Tennessee, the 68th for Texas A&M. and to the winner goes the pile of dogs. Their road went from the cold of the first day of February to a 100-degree day in Omaha, and now it’s time to make a decision. The Aggies nearly won on Sunday, just seven outs away. The Vols nearly lost, sinking under the weight of their left-on-base total. But then the day changed and perhaps the series. “It was a war against the SEC,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said afterward. “Or just a playoff war.”
Has the series swayed Tennessee for good with the Vols’ elation — and perhaps relief — from Sunday’s late scrimmage, which was fueled by what they do best, hitting balls out of the park? Or will Texas A&M simply feature more hot throwers, who nearly squeezed the last life out of Tennessee on Sunday and might do it next time? All this must be resolved Monday evening.
It’s the last day of MCWS 2024:
Vitello said he would put brown noise on his sound machine to sleep better Sunday night. As for Monday, “we will approach the pre-match as we see fit. And then 6:09, play ball.
Zander Sechrist, the Vols’ likely starting pitcher, said he will try to keep his usual approach. “At the end of the day, it’s still baseball. It’s just baseball here with a title on it. I’m not trying to downplay it or play it up, I’m just trying to stay calm about it. How was he going to prepare during the day on Monday for the biggest moment of his career in the evening? Sechrist said he would have lunch.
Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle mentioned he has Justin Lamkin to start and big guns Evan Aschenbeck and Josh Stewart out of the bullpen. Lamkin struck out 15 in eight scoreless innings in Omaha while Aschenbeck and Stewart struck out 11 Saturday in Game 1.
“We’re heading into the last game of the season and Lamkin is ready to roll. And Stewart now has a day (off) and Aschenbeck has a day. I’ll take that,” Schlossnagle said. “Obviously we are playing against a great team. So we’ll see.
➡️ LIVE UPDATES: Follow the 2024 MCWS Finals
The Aggie who provided his team’s only point in Game 2, Jace LaViolette, aimed to focus on the mental side, after nearly missing his challenge on Sunday.
“That’s where our mental work comes in,” he said. “It’s always the same match. It’s always one throw at a time. Literally, we’re trying to learn how to do everything one by one. And as long as we continue to put together good quality bats and we continue to do what we’ve been doing this whole tournament, all these playoffs, honestly I feel like we can do anything we want to do. We can win it all.
If there is any momentum, it could belong to Tennessee after its 30th come-from-behind victory this season. No team in the country had more, and yet the Vols aren’t exactly running a buffet on Texas A&M’s pitching, and the Aggies know it.
This is what made Sunday such an anxious company. To review Tennessee’s survival:
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
It was getting late for the Vols. A 1-0 Texas A&M lead on LaViolette’s home run that seemed so unimposing in the first inning was an ominous number staring them in the face in the seventh. Was the incendiary engine that is Tennessee’s offense really abandoned for good in the 1-0 championship finale?
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
Look who was silent for the Aggies.
Zane Badmaev had pitched one inning in a month and hadn’t started a game since his days at Tarleton in 2020. But he started Sunday and provided a scoreless first.
Then Chris Cortez, who deals with nuclear power but who commands in an exasperating and erratic manner. Cortez would strike out seven in his 4.1 innings. He also walked five, avoiding Tennessee scoring opportunities like raindrops.
Then Kaiden Wilson, who had thrown 8.2 innings all season and had an ERA of 8.31.
Against this trio, the powerful formation of the Vols had produced. . . Nothing.
The heat was building on both teams, figuratively and literally. Texas A&M could almost reach out and touch a championship. The Aggies would become the first team in 11 years to win the NCAA Tournament undefeated. Stadium employees were already rolling up the stands in case they were needed for the trophy presentation.
The only thing that worried Tennessee was its survival.
“You could feel it getting tense,” LaViolette said.
In the seventh inning, Sechrist decided to change locations in the Vols dugout.
“I sat outside the bathroom just to change places and get things done. I really wasn’t watching the game at all,” he said.
Tick . . . tick . . tick . . .
Dylan Dreiling came to the plate with two outs and Christian Moore on second base in the seventh. Dreiling had struggled against Texas A&M pitchers like almost everyone else in a Tennessee uniform, striking out two. If he retired, the Vols would be 0 for 17 with runners on base that day, 2 for 21 with men in scoring position through two games. Such numbers had the potential to haunt Tennessee baseball for posterity. “I think it was probably because there was a little more tension or a little more effort,” Vitello said of some unproductive hitters with runners on base. “But it’s pretty hard not to have that.”
It is certain that sooner or later, Tennessee will become Tennessee. But it better be sooner.
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
BOOM!
Dreiling hit a two-run homer that put the Aggies behind for the first time in this MCWS.
Cal Stark followed with a two-run shot in the eighth to make it a more comfortable 4-1. Up to that point, he had been 0 for 16 in the MCWS with nine strikeouts. In the sixth inning, he hit a double play for the first time all season to kill a threat. For the Vols receiver, Omaha had been an offensive nightmare. But not anymore. “I felt pretty good about finally getting that first shot out,” he said. “Every kid dreams of playing at this stadium and to be able to do it at the end of the game like that, it was pretty cool and something I’ll never forget.
Four runs may not be a blowout by Tennessee 2024 standards, but they were strong enough, especially with four crucial shutout innings from Vols reliever Aaron Combs. They kept Sechrist in his new seat near the bathroom.
“Dylan hits a two-run homer, so I do it the next inning and Cal hits his two-run homer. I don’t know what I’m going to do tomorrow,” he said. “Maybe I won’t sit on the bench, maybe I’ll go to that place.”
The Vols’ key had been increasing Cortez’s pitch count. When he threw strikes, he was almost unhittable. Tennessee’s best chance was to force him out and join someone else in the bullpen. Cortez finally had to leave in the sixth after 99 pitches.
The home runs came out of Wilson. Tennessee hit 182 this season, but those may have been the most important.
👀 See full MCWS support
“We always know we’re one round away,” Stark said. “So we really knew we had to continue to do what we had been doing all year, just trying to get quality at-bats and pass it on to the next guy. “
The power of Tennessee had finally spoken, but even then it wasn’t easy. Texas A&M tied it at the plate in the bottom of the ninth. And Ryan Targac’s final takedown was a deep drive toward the warning track.
“In this situation, if you had your courage, you would like to have the last at bat,” Vitello said. “Because you know the ninth inning is going to be full of drama.”
And so, the winner takes all and the loser remains without a title Monday night.
On the Tennessee side, Vitello: “I felt like we were more true to who we were today pregame, in the dugout, during the game. And, again, it’s easy to say that because we end up doing well on the scoreboard. But I’d rather fight this group the way they showed up today and hope they do the same tomorrow.
From Texas A&M, LaViolette: “This is the most comfortable we’ve felt playing baseball in a while. I have full confidence in this team. I think every single person on this team has full confidence in us. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s another baseball game. Like, elimination or not, we always put our pants on the same way, we all do the same things. It’s about who can move in first and fastest. It’s baseball and we can play tomorrow, like coach said, we don’t have to. It’s a blessing to wake up and be able to play this game. Obviously it’s a shame we lost today, but I can wake up tomorrow and play the game I love.
With two legacy programs so determined to win a first championship, it’s likely we’ve gotten to this point. When Targac’s deep fly was caught Sunday to end the game, workers began moving the platforms up the ramp from the field. “Well,” said one, “that was a good try.”
They will need these platforms Monday night. For someone.