Vols overcome extremely improbable odds to take control of Clemson regional
It seemed hopeless. Down to their final out with the bases empty, thoughts began to shift towards the road Tennessee must navigate. One more out, and the Vols would be relegated to having to beat Charlotte on Sunday, then Clemson twice over the next two days. Christian Moore slapped a base hit to right field […]
It seemed hopeless. Down to their final out with the bases empty, thoughts began to shift towards the road Tennessee must navigate. One more out, and the Vols would be relegated to having to beat Charlotte on Sunday, then Clemson twice over the next two days.
Christian Moore slapped a base hit to right field to keep the Vols momentarily alive. Then, down to his last strike, Blake Burke snuck a ground ball past the shift into right field.
The winning run came to the plate in the form of Zane Denton, who quickly turned this game on its head.
The partisan majority inside Kingsmore Stadium sat stunned, while pockets of Vol fans rejoiced the improbable turnaround.
And as improbable as it was, it wasn't the only incredible and unlikely event in the game that went the Vols' way.
After Clemson plated a run in the bottom of the 9th, the Vols couldn't do anything in the top of the 10th. The Tigers ended up loading the bases on Chase Burns with no outs in the bottom of the 10th. All seemed lost, and Denton's heroic home run seemed like it would be an asterisk in a memorable but crushing loss.
In fact, the odds gave Tennessee less than a 5% win percentage chance at that point, per College Baseball Central citing Warren Nolan.
Chase Burns managed to strike out Blake Wright on a filthy slider, giving Tennessee a chance to get out of the inning on a double play. That scenario was incredibly unlikely, as UT had only turned 25 double plays on the entire season, among the bottom third in the SEC. So unlikely, in fact, that the Vols' win % chance only jumped up from 4.9% to 13%.
But you never write anything off in this wacky, wild, glorious sport. Burns got Benjamin Blackwell – one of the fastest players in the ACC and the conference leader in stolen bases – to hit a chopper back up the middle, and Moore and Maui Ahuna appeared to have turned the double play on a bang-bang play. The first base umpire called Blackwell safe, and joy erupted in the stands.
Until the play went under review, where it was clear that Ahuna's throw beat Blackwell by less than half a step. Suddenly, Clemson fans who were in the throes of joy had to settle down and re-engage in the game.
Burns' composure in such a pressure spot was a microcosm of his tremendous work out of the bullpen after spelling Chase Dollander in the 5th. He threw 6.1 innings of one-run ball while striking out eight. Tennessee doesn't win without his A-game, and it definitely was on that level Saturday night. Meanwhile, Clemson went to the bullpen early and often, using ten pitchers.
And in the top of the 14th, against Clemson's ninth pitcher, Tennessee broke through again. Hunter Ensley, who was 0-for-Saturday, got his first hit of the day at the most important time possible, stroking a liner to the right-centerfield wall and scoring Ahuna.
Seth Halvorsen closed the door in the bottom of the 14th, forcing a pop up to end it. Halvorsen was brilliant himself, throwing 3.1 shutout innings after taking over for Burns.
Tennessee had won a game they snatched from the jaws of defeat twice. As a result, they sit in the catbird seat with a slew of rested arms while a tired Clemson team must get up for a noon game against Charlotte.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
