Masterful pitching carries Tennessee to the Super Regionals
The selection show talking heads noted it immediately as soon as Tennessee's name was announced on Selection Monday. It was all about one thing for Tennessee going into Clemson, and something that would be an issue for other teams: their pitching. And, as Tennessee celebrated a regional championship inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, one […]
The selection show talking heads noted it immediately as soon as Tennessee's name was announced on Selection Monday. It was all about one thing for Tennessee going into Clemson, and something that would be an issue for other teams: their pitching.
And, as Tennessee celebrated a regional championship inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, one thing resonated clear: they were right.
Tennessee dominated Charlotte 9-2 on Sunday night to claim the Clemson regional and earn the school's third straight trip to the Super Regionals. The 49ers eliminated the homestanding Tigers 3-2 earlier in the day.
And, like it was on Friday night and for most of 14 innings on Saturday, it was all about the men on the mound for Tennessee. When scoreboards across the country were flashing up numbers like slot machines over the weekend, Tennessee's pitching staff did what it's been doing for the better part of the last month and a half: keeping the team in games. For the regional, Vol pitchers allowed just 8 total runs over 32 innings pitched.
It's really why it was an absolute head-scratcher why Tennessee would have been shipped to the #4 national seed. The Vols have as good of pitching as anyone in the country. At least on a talent level. Friday night starter Andrew Lindsey was outstanding and has been for the last six weeks. Chase Dollander followed by Chase Burns proved to be a potent combination for the Tigers on Saturday. And when Drew Beam is on, like he was on Sunday, he's capable of dominating.
As a team, Tennessee's earned run average for the season is 3.63. Only #1 overall seed Wake Forest has a better one. Right behind Tennessee on the list? Indiana State, Penn, Oral Roberts, Duke, Iowa, Texas, and South Carolina. All reached their respective regional finals, while Texas, Indiana State, and South Carolina have already advanced to the Super Regionals.
In other words, pitching is still king.
And that's what makes this team different and potentially special. This team can hit, don't get me wrong, but there's no Drew Gilbert, no Jorel Ortega, no Jordan Beck, no Luc Lipcius, no Trey Lipscomb, no Evan Russell. Last year's team hit 36 more than this year's squad. That's a lot of offense.
But where 2022 failed was on the mound. After shutting out Alabama State in the Knoxville regional opener, UT pitching allowed 6 or more runs in the next 5 combined regional and Super Regional games. When heavy hitting teams cool off and their pitching doesn't match, that's when they go home.
And now two of the three starters from the Notre Dame regional are back in Dollander and Burns. Dollander pitched a gem and got the game 2 win, while Burns took the loss in the decisive game 3. Both are experienced and now know what it takes to get the job done and advance to Omaha.
And now, thanks to this groove the Vols have found themselves in, they'll get the chance to prove it next weekend.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
