OMAHA, Neb. – No. 1/1 Tennessee used a stellar performance from its pitching staff and scored four late runs to earn a hard-fought 4-1 win over No. 3/4 Texas A&M on Sunday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field, forcing a winner-take-all game three on Monday night that will decide the 2024 national champion.
The Volunteers handed the Aggies (53-14) their first loss of the NCAA Tournament as they were on a nine-game winning streak that started after their 7-4 loss to UT in the SEC Tournament back on May 23.
The Big Orange entered the seventh inning trailing 1-0 despite having at least one runner reach base in five of the first six innings. UT was finally able to break through in the seventh when Dylan Dreiling launched a 1-1 pitch over the bullpen in right field for a two-run homer to give the Vols a 2-1 lead.
Through the Vols’ five Men’s College World Series games, Dreiling leads the team with a .500 batting average (11-for-22), two home runs and eight RBIs.
Cal Stark followed Dreiling’s lead with a two-run, two-out blast of his own in the top of the eighth inning to add some insurance.
Tennessee (59-13) got another solid start from junior righthander Drew Beam, who struck out seven and allowed just one run on three hits over four innings.
After giving up a solo home run to Jace LaViolette in the bottom of the first, Beam went on to strike out the next five batters he faced and gave up just two more hits before handing the ball over to fellow righthander Aaron Combs.
Combs picked up his third win of the season to move to 3-1 after a nearly flawless relief outing. The redshirt junior threw four scoreless innings, allowed just three hits and finished with five strikeouts.
Nate Snead picked up his team-leading sixth save of the year after finishing Texas A&M off in the ninth, escaping a jam after inheriting two runners on base with no outs. Kavares Tears caught a fly ball on the warning track in right field for the final out of the game.
STAT OF THE GAME: For the second time during the 2024 MCWS, Tennessee allowed just one run, holding the Aggies potent lineup scoreless over the final eight innings on Sunday afternoon. Prior to this year’s trip to Omaha, the Vols had not accomplished that feat since a 5-1 win over Clemson in the 1995 MCWS.
UP NEXT: A national champion will be crowned on Monday night when Tennessee and Texas A&M meet in a decisive game three. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) and the contest will be televised on ESPN.
