Link Jarrett on rematch with Tennessee: 'Can't wait'

Friday night, Florida State and Tennessee played the second game of the College World Series. The Volunteers pulled off an incredible comeback to defeat the Seminoles 12-11, but it wasn’t without controversy after a check swing from Blake Burke kept UT alive.

Wednesday, the two teams will square off in a rematch. Only this time, the winner goes to the Final – and Link Jarrett sounds ready.

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“Can’t wait,” Jarrett said after Tuesday’s win over North Carolina. “They’re really good.”

Florida State held a five-run lead at one point, thanks in large part of a six-run third inning. But Tennessee kept chipping away at that 9-4 advantage, and the Volunteers scored four runs in the ninth inning to eventually get the walk-off victory – set up in large part by a check swing during Burke’s at-bat.

With two strikes, the Tennessee star checked his swing, and the third-base umpire ruled he didn’t go around. Instead of the third strike to end the game, Burke ripped the game-tying single to left-center field to bring it to an 11-11 tie.

It’s not the first time Jarrett played a close game against Tennessee. He did so in the 2022 Knoxville Super Regional while at Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish won the final game 8-6 to advance to Omaha. Now in his second year at Florida State, Jarrett said Friday’s game was very similar.

“I’ve dealt with that program at their place in the Super in ’22,” Jarrett said. “Thought it was one of the most talented college baseball teams I’ve ever seen. This one’s right there in that same conversation. That game was very close to being pendulum swung our way and it did not. It’s tough.”

Link Jarrett: ‘There’s no wiggle room’ vs. Tennessee

The NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, Tennessee won’t make things easy for Florida State in the rematch. While Jarrett doesn’t know who’s starting yet – he told reporters to “save it because I don’t know” in anticipation of the question – he understands FSU will need its best on the mound as it looks to avenge that loss.

“They’re really good,” Jarrett said. “There’s no wiggle room in the lineup. They have a variety of arms. They’re talented. They’ve been here. They played in this stadium a lot. So excited. I recognize the difficulty of beating that team. It takes everything you’ve got.

“You have to finish, you have to defend, you have to execute pitches. And you have to be versatile and compete offensively to figure out a way to do it.”