Zander Sechrist on friendship with Kirby Connell: 'He'll be at my wedding and hopefully my funeral'

Zander Sechrist and Kirby Connell pitched Tennessee into the College World Series finals on Wednesday in a win against Florida State. The pair pitched the first eight innings to lead the Volunteers to a 7-2 victory and reach the finals for the first time since 1951.

Sechrist put in 6.1 innings of work while striking out three batters and giving up five hits and two runs before Connell entered in relief. The latter then pitched the next 1.2 innings before Nate Snead entered to close things out.

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They both joined ESPN for a postgame interview following the victory, where Sechrist opened up on their friendship with a humorous quote.

“He’s like a brother to me, to be honest,” he said. “He’ll be at my wedding and hopefully he’ll be at my funeral — unless I’m at your funeral first. He’s just been a great friend, great mentor ever since I got here on campus and a great throwing partner.”

Sechrist got Tennessee through the first six innings without giving up a run before finally allowing two to come through in the seventh. That’s when Connell stepped in and quickly got the Vols out of the inning by forcing a couple of groundouts.

He spoke after the game on the job that Sechrist did to begin the game. It marked just the second start for him in the NCAA Tournament, and he once again set the tone for a Tennessee victory.

“He was electric,” Connell said of Sechrist. “Came out and started us off really good. Ended up getting to the seventh, which is really good for him. It was awesome to see for him to be able to hand the ball off to me.”

Tennessee jumped out to a 4-0 lead within the first two innings, scoring three in the opening frame to assert its dominance early on. The Vols managed 10 hits as a team on the day, led by Blake Burke going 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI, including a home run.

They have yet to lose a game entering the College World Series final as they aim to take home their first national championship in program history despite making three of the past four CWS.

“I’ve been here,” Sechrist said. “It’s my third time. It’s a blessing just to get out on that mound. A lot of children like to be out there and I’m just living a childhood dream.”