Tennessee defeats Florida State, punches ticket to Men's College World Series final

Tennessee defeated Florida State 7-2 on Wednesday to advance through to the 2024 Men’s College World Series final. They are yet to lose in Omaha.

The Volunteers set the tone for the matchup, taking a three-run lead in the first inning all on separate scoring plays. A fielder’s choice scored Christian Moore to start things off before Hunter Ensley knocked in a run off a single down the left field line. Dylan Dreiling finished the inning off by scoring on a throwing error.

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Blake Burke kept Tennessee’s fun going as he helped Moore score his second run in two innings after belting a single to right field on a two-strike pitch.

Tennessee would add a couple of insurance runs over the next several innings. Since Moore had two runs under his belt and no RBIs, he opted to change that in his third at-bat of the day. Adding three more bases to his already impressive total, Moore hit a triple to right field while scoring Cal Stark in the process.

A seventh-inning single from Dreiling pushed to lead to six runs, but the Vols caught the Seminoles’ best effort in the next half inning. Two home runs by Florida State’s Daniel Cantu and Alex Lodise made the ballgame interesting, but the lead proved to be too much in the end.

While Tennessee’s bats were getting the job done on offense, Vols pitcher Zander Sechrist did his part by keeping the Seminoles at bay. While his day was ended by the pair of long balls, Sechrist logged three strikeouts, allowed five hits and a walk through 6.1 innings pitched (76 TP). Kirby Connell relieved Sechrist in the seventh where he played through the eighth inning. Nate Snead came in for the ninth inning to log the save.

Burke put an exclamation point on the victory in the top of the ninth inning with a no-doubt home run to right center field, capping the win at five runs and sending the Vols to college baseball’s brightest stage.

The win continues the Vols’ hot streak in Omaha after defeating Florida State twice since Friday as well as defeating North Carolina on Sunday. Tennessee is the first team to punch its ticket to the championship series and will await the winner between Texas A&M and Florida to decide this season’s national champion.

The series begins on Saturday, June 20 with the first game set for a 7:30 p.m. ET start time and will air live on ESPN.