Tennessee shatters two long droughts in 6-4 win over Stanford
Tennessee baseball lives on in Omaha. And the Vols snuffed out two long Omaha trends to make it happen. Chase Burns was brilliant in relief of Chase Dollander, Tennessee's offense sprang to life with 6 runs in the 5th and 7th innings, and the Vols rallied from a 4-0 deficit to eliminate Stanford 6-4 in […]
Tennessee baseball lives on in Omaha. And the Vols snuffed out two long Omaha trends to make it happen.
Chase Burns was brilliant in relief of Chase Dollander, Tennessee's offense sprang to life with 6 runs in the 5th and 7th innings, and the Vols rallied from a 4-0 deficit to eliminate Stanford 6-4 in Monday's first game at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
Burns was nothing short of incredible. He came in with one on and no outs in the bottom of the 4th inning and the Vols trailing 4-0. From there, Stanford had absolutely no chance. The Cardinal went 1-2-3 in every inning the rest of the game except for the 6th. Stanford led off with a single, but Burns struck out the next two batters. After Owen Cobb reached on a bunt single to third, Burns got out of it with a fly ball to left field.
Meanwhile, Tennessee's big-blast offense found a way to win on a day that didn't favor their style of play. The winds were blowing in strongly from the outfield such that UT's Jared Dickey said after the game that only one or two Vols might have been able to hit it out today.
Instead, it was line drives and ground balls that did the trick today for Tennessee. The Vols led off the 5th with three singles to the outfield in the first four hitters to load the bases. Hunter Ensley got the Vols on the board with a sacrifice fly to score Zane Denton. Then, two out hits by Dickey and Christian Moore drove in three more, and the Vols were in a whole new ballgame at 4-4.
In the top of the 7th, after a walk, and a Blake Burke double down to the left field corner, Denton grounded a ball to short, which was deep enough to score Griffin Merritt. Burke came home later on a wild pitch, and the Vols held a 6-4 lead needing to get 9 outs to advance.
It only took Burns 9 batters to get them, striking out 4 on the way. For the day, Burns struck out 9 and scattered 2 hits over 6 innings for the win. Dollander allowed 4 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts over 3+ innings.
With the win, the Vols became the first team since the 2001 squad to win a game in Omaha, breaking a 22-year streak. After losing to eventual champion Miami in the opener, the 2001 Vols eliminated Georgia 19-12 and Southern Cal 10-2 before falling to the Hurricanes again 12-6. Since that loss, the Vols went 0-5 until today, with quick exits in 2005 and 2021.
Tennessee's Burns also became the first pitcher since the 1997 College World Series to pitch 6+ scoreless innings. In the postseason, Burns has thrown 22 innings, allowing 1 run on 8 hits with 5 walks and 22 strikeouts. He's been simply unstoppable.
Two marks down with one big win. And Tennessee's magical Omaha run isn't done yet.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
