Drew Beam on the history of Tennessee in Omaha: 'It's just all numbers'

The odds are stacked against Tennessee, sort of. The No. 1 seed has not won the College World Series since Miami did so in 1999. Tennessee enters the CWS as the cursed 1-seed this season. However, UT right-handed pitcher Drew Beam puts little stock in the storyline.

“It’s just all numbers, to be honest,” Beam said. “The game will play itself.”

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Beam’s mindset has paid off thus far for the Volunteers. Tennessee posted a collective 5-1 through the regional and super-regional rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The team’s only loss came against Evansville in the Knoxville Super Regional.

In total, Tennessee has outscored its opponents 64-29 in the NCAA Tournament. Beam has contributed to several of Tennessee’s successful outings, including the team’s 12-6 victory over Indiana on June 1. In the win, Beam pitched for 3.2 innings, allowing four hits while tallying four strikeouts.

Beam isn’t the only Volunteer who’s been dismissive of the eerie history surrounding the No. 1 seed in the CWS.

“It’s definitely something you see floating around the internet and stuff like that,” Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley said. “It’s almost impossible to not see it. But at the end of the day, the better team that goes out on the field wins, and any day it can be whoever it is.

“The 1 seed could beat the No. 8 seed or a team that isn’t ranked at all could beat the 1 seed. We’ve seen it happen many times. The only thing we can control is going out there and playing our game. If we play our game, hopefully, we come out with a win.”

Tennessee looks to make history

This year is Tennessee’s second straight and seventh total appearance in the CWS. Despite the program’s rich history, Tennessee has never won the national title. The closest the Volunteers have come was in 1951 when they finished as the national runners-up.

With head coach Tony Vitello leading the way, Tennessee will look to rewrite the history books.

“First of all, it’s difficult to get here, and once you are here, it’s even more difficult to win. Part of that is the talent that’s here,” Vitello said. “Whether it’s 1999 or just a numbers game in general, it really is a numbers game.

“Now there’s a championship series. There wasn’t one when I was younger. Really the only four teams that matter are us and the three that we’re in that group with. Out of four teams, one of them has to come out.”

Tennessee intends to be one of those four teams. On Friday, the Volunteers will kick off their CWS run against Florida State at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.