How it Happened: Tennessee advances to CWS Finals with 7-2 win over Florida State

OMAHA, Neb. – For the first time since 1951, Tennessee is back in the College World Series Finals as the Volunteers knocked off Florida State Wednesday afternoon 7-2 from Charles Schwab Field.

The No. 1 overall seeded Vols (58-12) won the College World Series ‘Bracket 1’ with a 3-0 record since arriving in Omaha. Tennessee topped the Seminoles (49-17) twice along the way, sandwiched around a win over North Carolina on Sunday.

Tennessee will await the winner of ‘Bracket 2’ which features Texas A&M in the driver’s seat at 2-0 and Florida still alive. Those two teams square off in the nightcap on Wednesday. A Gators win forces a Thursday ‘if necessary’ contest while an Aggies victory would lock up a Finals spot for Texas A&M.

Game 1 of the College World Series Finals is scheduled for Saturday evening at 7:30 eastern time on ESPN.

With Tennessee’s win over Florida State on Wednesday, it’s the 12^th win in Omaha for the program and the third in their last four games on the stage. The Vols have now made it to the CWS Finals for the second time in program history and the first since 1951, when Oklahoma outlasted the Vols for the national championship in the one-game title bout. The win also marked the 58^th of the campaign, a new program record.

Zander Sechrist (5-1) earned the win for Tennessee after tossing 6.1 innings of two-run baseball. John Abraham (5-2) is charged with the loss after allowing the first three runs of the game to score for the Big Orange off two hits in just one-third of an inning.

Blake Burke’s solo home run in the ninth inning made NCAA history as Tennessee is now the first team ever to have five players hit at least 20 home runs in a single season. Tennessee’s stay in Omaha is far from complete as the Vols are off to the Finals round. Here’s how it all went down for the Vols in a win over Florida State on Wednesday.   

Postgame Video – Podcast

Scoring Summary

Top 1: Billy Amick drove in Christian Moore on a fielder’s choice RBI. Vols 1-0  
Top 1: Hunter Ensley singled to left and Billy Amick scored. Vols 2-0
Top 1: Failed pickoff attempt at first base with runners on the corners allowed Dylan Dreiling to score from third. Vols 3-0
Top 2: Blake Burke singled in Christina Moore on a base hit to right. Vols 4-0
Top 4: Christian Moore drove in Cal Stark on a triple to right. Vols 5-0
Top 7: Dylan Dreiling singled in Billy Amick on a base-hit to right field. Vols 6-0
Bot 7: Daniel Cantu homered to right field. Vols 6-1
Bot 7: Alex Lodise homered to right field. Vols 6-2
Top 9: Blake Burke solo home run to right-center. Vols 7-2

The Final Stats

2024 College World Series Bracket

2024 College World Series Results

Friday, June 14
North Carolina 3, Virginia 2 | Final Stats
Tennessee 12, Florida State 11 | Final Stats

Saturday, June 15
Kentucky 5, NC State 4 (10 inn) | Final Stats
Texas A&M 3, Florida 2 | Final Stats

Sunday, June 16
Florida State 7, Virginia 3 | Final Stats | Elimination Game
Tennessee 6, North Carolina 1| Final Stats

Monday, June 17
Florida 5, NC State 4 | Final Stats | Elimination Game
Texas A&M 5, Kentucky 1 | Final Stats

Tuesday, June 18
Florida State 5, North Carolina 1 | Final Stats | Elimination Game
Florida vs. Kentucky | Postponed (Rain)

Wednesday, June 19
Florida 15, Kentucky 4 | Final Stats | Kentucky Eliminated
Tennessee 7, Florida State 2 | Final Stats | EFSU Eliminated
TBA vs. Texas A&M | 7 pm ET | ESPN | Elimination Game for TBA