Chase Burns vs. Stanford was 'an all-time performance at the College World Series'

If Stanford was going to get to Chase Burns, head coach Dave Esquer knew it was going to take extra innings. The outs were going to have to pile up, along with the pitches, before Tennessee’s right-handed flamethrower would wear down Monday afternoon in Omaha.

“We were going to probably have to get him out of there somehow and run his pitch count up,” Esquer said, “and maybe even playing 10 or 11 innings.”

It never happened. Burns never came close to allowing it. 

He replaced Chase Dollander in the fourth inning, with Tennessee trailing No. 8 Stanford 4-0 in the College World Series elimination game at Charles Schwab Stadium, and spent the rest of the day putting on a six-inning clinic.

Burns gave up just two hits, issued no walks with 50 strikes out of his 73 total pitches, and struck out nine as the Vols rallied for a 6-4 win to keep their season alive.

“Hats off to him,” Esquer said, “because that was an all-time performance at the College World Series.”

Chase Burns vs. Stanford: 6.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 9 K, 0 BB

Now Tennessee (44-21) awaits the loser of Monday night’s game between No. 1 Wake Forest and No. 5 LSU, with the two teams playing Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The Vols staved off elimination thanks to a four-run fifth inning and scored two more runs in the seventh to take their first lead in Omaha.

Dollander gave up four runs over three innings pitched after getting the start. He issued a two-out walk that later came around to score in the first inning and another run scored on an Alberto Rios double.

Stanford made it 4-0 with a Braden Montgomery RBI single in the third and another Rios RBI on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. Rios singled to start the sixth inning and Owen Cobb later reached on a bunt single for the only two hits Stanford got off Burns. 

“He had everything working for him,” Rios said of Burns, “whether it was fastball, slider changeup. He was making his pitches whenever he wanted to compared to the previous guy (Dollander) that we got to.

“I think when he needed his one, he got it. And it’s not easy when you’re facing 100 (mph) with that kind of slider and stuff. I know he’s a good pitcher.”

Tennessee’s four runs in the fourth started with a Hunter Ensley sacrifice fly, with Zane Denton sliding in just ahead of the tag at home plate. Jared Dickey then singled to score Cal Stark and Christian Moore tied the game with a two-run single to center, scoring Dickey and Maui Ahuna.

Denton groundout to shortstop in the seventh, with Griffin Merritt from third to give the Vols the lead. Blake Burke then scored on a wild pitch after doubling for Tennessee’s only extra-base hit. 

“Obviously it started out well for us taking a lead early,” Esquer said, “but Chase Burns came in there and just slammed the door on us and made it really difficult for us, didn’t give us any cracks. We were going to have to do something special there against him.”

“We got beat by execution,” Esquer added later. “They executed and made it hard on us … we’d probably have to stalemate it a little bit if we were to get to (Burns) eventually.”

Up Next: Tennessee vs. No. 1 Wake Forest or No. 5 LSU, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Esquer knows what special looks like in the College World Series. He helped Stanford win a national championship in Omaha as a senior in 1987 and has now taken the Cardinal to the World Series three straight times.

That’s why it wasn’t just what Burns did on Monday, but the situation he inherited, too. Down four runs with his team fighting an uphill battle with their backs against the wall.

“A guy that comes in when the momentum is the other way,” Esquer said. “It’s a 4-0 lead and just kind of shut it down and didn’t really give us any crack … he only gave up two hits, right?With nine punch-outs. 

“He made it tough. He didn’t walk anybody. So he wasn’t giving us anything.”