Dylan Dreiling named Knoxville Regional MVP as six Vols receive honors
Tennessee outfielder Dylan Dreiling was named the Most Valuabe Player for the Knoxville Regional Sunday night after the Vols punched their ticket to super regional play following the 12-4 win over Southern Miss at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Dreiling joined five other teammates who made the All-Tournament team, a list including catcher Cal Stark, second baseman Christian Moore, third baseman Billy Amick, centerfielder Hunter Ensley and pitcher AJ Causey.
The sophomore MVP registered a .538 batting average in the three games, spanning 13 at-bats. Dreiling tallied seven hits with two homers, three runs batted in, two doubles, five runs scored and three walks. Both of his home runs on the weekend were with men on base and he also totaled a team-best 15 bags in regional play.
Stark, Tennessee’s starting catcher, belted three home runs over the weekend with two coming against Southern Miss on Sunday. In fact, his final home run of regional play was the record breaking for the Volunteers, registering the 159th homer of the season. Overall, the senior hit for a .300 average with three homers, give RBI and five runs scored.
Dreiling edged Stark out for the MVP award, claiming the prize by three votes.
Moore was solid as usual, hitting for a .308 batting average with one home run, four RBI and three runs scored. He also made four spectacular defensive plays in the field to help the Vols earn three-straight victories in the regional showcase.
Amick homered twice – his only two hits on the weekend – while driving in seven runs on the weekend. His grand slam in the third inning of Saturday’s win over Indiana blew the game wide open. Despite only having two hits, Amick led the Vols with seven RBI over the weekend. The junior also walked four times and was hit by two pitches.
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Ensley was second on the squad in regional play with a .417 batting average, homering once and driving in two runs. The junior collected five hits over 12 at-bats, tallied 10 bases and scored four runs. The centerfielder’s average has risen about 50 points over the past month of the season.
Causey earned one of the pitcher spots after tossing 6.2 innings of two-run baseball in relief on Friday in a Tennessee win over Norther Kentucky. The winning pitcher tallied season-highs (in relief appearances) with the innings pitched, nine strikeouts and one walk.
Tennessee is headed to its fourth-straight super regionals as the No. 1 seed Vols (53-11) will advance on to the Knoxville Super Regional next weekend (announcement on specific dates coming on Monday) to take on either Eastern Carolina or Evansville of the Greenville Regional. Tennessee belted five home runs to break the single season record for 159 round trippers in a season in the regional championship.
2024 NCAA Knoxville Regional All-Tournament Team
C: Cal Stark, Tennessee
1B: Brock Tibbitts, Indiana
2B: Christian Moore, Tennessee
SS: Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss
3B: Billy Amick, Tennessee
LF: Dylan Dreiling, Tennessee
CF: Hunter Ensley, Tennessee
RF: Slade Wilks, Southern Miss
DH: Devin Taylor, Indiana
P: Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (unanimous)
P: AJ Causey, Tennessee
Most Outstanding Player: Dylan Dreiling, Tennessee
