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Five firework worthy moments for Tennessee baseball in 2024

On3 imageby:Eric Cain•07/04/24•

_Cainer

Tennessee baseball is just a little over a week removed from winning the first national championship in program history.

The Vols won a record 60 games in 2024 – also the most by any Southeastern Conference program in history – and became the first No. 1 overall seed to win it all since Miami in 1999. Tennessee produced the most wins in college baseball since Florida State in 2002 and the most wins by a national champion since Wichita State in 1989.

There’s truly not enough fireworks to go around for what this team accomplished on the diamond in 2024.

We do our best, however, as on this Fourth of July holiday. Here’s five firework worthy moments from Tennessee baseball this past season.  

The Final Out

We’ll have several plays and moments from the Vols’ extended stay in Omaha this summer, but no moment was greater than the final out that won the national championship. Literal fireworks ensued as Aaron Combs’ 1-2 pitch blew by Texas A&M No. 5 hitter and first baseman Ted Burton for the game-sealing strikeout.

The final out followed a hectic and wild ninth inning where the Aggies plated two runs. The second scored on a wild pitch from 90 feet away, after being balked over when Combs wasn’t paying a lick of attention. His focus was on the batter, who represented the tying run, as the national championship was moments away.  

A makeshift ‘dogpile’ began to the right of the pitchers mound. The coaches embraced in a hug from the top step of the dugout and the Tennessee faithful in attendance at Charles Schwab Field were going crazy. Tennessee athletics had won its first ‘team’ (all sports) national championship since 2009 in its first true national championship contest since 2008.

What a moment. One that won’t soon be forgotten.

The legend of Hunter Ensley

Technically this is two moments – two plays – but I don’t think you’ll mind. Both happened in the College World Series and both were vital for Tennessee’s eventual national title.

Who can forget the junior centerfield literally running through a wall for his team? That came in the second inning on a leadoff drive to left-center off the bat of North Carolina’ Anthony Donnofrio. Tennessee’s Hunter Ensley had a beat on it, ran for what seemed like a mile to make the catch on the warning tack and then crashed straight into the wall.

He got up and showed plenty of emotion – as did pitcher Drew Beam on the mound. The play saved an extra base hit and who knows, maybe even an inside the park home run. Ensley paid the price, however, and had to slide over to designated hitter the next tow games on a bum wheel. Still, what a moment and what a catch.  

His next highlight-reel play in Omaha came in the final game of the season – Game 3 of the College World Series Finals against Texas A&M.

Getting a lead off first base after singling to left field, Ensley would come all the way around to score on a Kavares Tears double to centerfield. Third base coach Josh Elander waved him around and it looked like a poor decision at the time. The ball beat Ensley to the plate by a matter of steps but Aggie catcher Jackson Appel missed the tag while turning around from the third base side of the line. Ensley turned to his side and dove across home plate for the incredible slide and safe call.

Ensley got up, spiked his helmet and shouted some words of praise. It put Tennessee up 6-1 at the time in the seventh inning, but that run proved to be the game-winner in the one-run victory. All this, too, on an injured hamstring.  

Christian Moore makes history, again

By the time Tennessee played its first game in Omaha for the 2024 College World Series, second baseman Christian Moore had already written his name in the Volunteer record books. He was the program’s leader in career and single-season home runs. The junior won the SEC triple crown in league play. Moore was having an All-American season and one that certainly will propel him into the top-half of the first round in next week’s MLB Draft.

What we didn’t have on our bingo cards was Moore hitting for only the second cycle in College World Series history on June 14 against Florida State. He joined Jerry Kindell, who accomplished the feat back on June 11, 1956, as part of a 5-for-6 day. For good measure, he doubled for the second time in the ninth inning and recorded the game-tying run at the time on a Blake Burke single. Dylan Dreiling later won it with a walk off single, capping the four-run ninth for the 12-11 win over the Seminoles. That was obviously another firework moment, too.

Moore tripled in the first inning, doubled in the second and singled in the fourth. A 440-foot home run to centerfield – that showcased 117 miles per hour of exit velocity – secured the cycle in just the sixth inning. What a performance by Moore. What a season for the kid from Brooklyn.

Cal doing what he does best

It was the sixth day in Hoover, Ala. for the Tennessee baseball team.

After dropping the SEC Tournament opener in lopsided fashion to Vanderbilt on Wednesday, Tennessee reeled off four-straight wins to secure its second conference tournament victory in three seasons. That tournament truly didn’t matter for the Volunteers – who were going to be the No. 1 overall seed in postseason play regardless of the title game outcome – but don’t tell the guys in that dugout as the Vols became just the fourth SEC team ever to win the conference regular season and tournament titles, along with the College world Series title in the same season.   

No play that week was bigger than Tennessee catcher Cal Stark’s back-pick in the sixth inning against LSU.

Freshman Dylan Loy was laboring in a fantastic long-relief effort (his career best outing) with two outs and one on. Tennessee made the move to lefty Andrew Behnke, who walked two consecutively to load the bases. Needing just one final out to work out of the jam and preserve the two-run lead at the time, the Vols went to veteran Kirby Connell. On the second pitch of the at-bat to Jake Brown, Stark threw behind Steven Milam at first base and caught him napping.

LSU had the bases loaded down two runs, but had Tennessee on the ropes. Stark’s back-pick was no surprise to Tennessee fans as it’s come up huge all season long. The senior ended up recording seven on the season, with one coming in Game 2 of the College World Series Finals against Texas A&M. That back-pick against LSU in Hoover was the biggest of the season, however.     

Triple Play Alert

This one will be short and sweet, but how can one of baseball’s rarest plays not be mentioned in this column? Well, no problem here. We got you covered.

In a season that stretched to the absolute last day possible (Game 3 of the CWS) at the end of June, Tennessee turned a triple play in the second game of the season on February 17 against Oklahoma at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.

Marcus Phillips walked the first two batters to begin the seventh inning in a 1-1 tied ballgame. Chris Stamos was called on to put out the fire. He did just that with the first triple play for Tennessee baseball since February 2, 1997, against Eastern Kentucky. Nearly 30 years!

It went down as a 1-6 triple play for those who were scoring at home. With Jaxon Willits at the plate, Stamos made a diving catch on bunt that was popped lazily int the air down the third base line. The pitcher got up and threw to the second base bag to double up the base runner who was headed for third base. The runner at second base was already on the bag as well, so shortstop Christian Moore applied the tag.

Just your normal, everyday triple play to get out of a two-on, no-out jam. All this on the second game of the season, no less.  

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