Omaha, Neb. – On the third day of the 2024 NCAA Division I College World Series, the No 1 program in the nation, the University of Tennessee Volunteers beat the No. 4 ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels 6-1 in the winner’s bracket in the second game on Sunday at Charles Schwab Field in front of 25,140 fans in attendance.
“I thought they got the big hit, and they capitalized, and we could not do that. I thought, top to bottom, we pitched the ball pretty dang well. But they got it done with runners in scoring position, and we didn’t. Credit to them”, UNC head coach Scott Forbes said during the post-game press conference.
The game’s first hit did not come until the top of the fourth inning, with North Carolina’s first baseman Parker Harber hitting a bloop single into right field with two outs off of starting pitcher Drew Beam.
Beam retired the first-eleven batters of the game before giving up the single to Harber.
Beam threw five innings on Sunday night and allowed four hits, one earned run, two walks, and seven strikeouts before being taken out in the top of the sixth inning by Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello.
“We’ve grinded out those two last games to put us in the position where we’re ahead 2-0. And there’s a bunch of guys on this team that have done it and been here. And the experience has really helped us through it all,” Beam said during the post-game press conference.
The Volunteers did not get their first hit of the game until the bottom of the fourth inning, with first baseman Blake Burke hitting a single to left field off of Tar Heels starting pitcher Shea Sprague to lead off the inning.
Sprague retired six batters in a row after he walked Volunteers left fielder Dylan Dreiling to lead off the bottom of the second inning before giving up the first Volunteers hit of the game on Sunday night.
A few moments later, Tennessee right fielder Kavres Tears launched a three-run home run into the right field bullpen, his 20th of the season, to help the Volunteers take a 3-0 lead, scoring Burke and Dreiling.
During the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tennessee offense extended their lead to four runs with designated hitter Reese Chapman launching a solo home run over the right-center field, his seventh of the season, to make it 4-0.
Shortly after, UNC head coach Scott Forbes took Shea Sprague out of the game and called upon relief pitcher Matthew Matthijs.
Sprague threw four innings, allowing three hits, four earned runs, two walks, and striking out six batters while facing 17 batters.
The Tennessee offense did not look back the rest of the way on Sunday, with shortstop Dean Curley providing insurance with an RBI single up the middle into center field in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring center field Colby Backus to extend the lead to 5-1.
Tears continued his hot bat in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday and drilled an RBI double down the left field line, scoring third baseman Billy Amick to ignite a 6-1 lead.
“I think it just shows how versatile we are, and it also shows our will to win,” Tears said during the postgame press conference.
Volunteers relief pitcher Kirby Connell got the final out of the game in the top of the ninth inning by getting Tar Heels designated hitter Jackson Van De Brake to fly out to center field for his sixth out and grab their second win at the 2024 CWS 6-1.
“Glad we were able to get it done for a lot of reasons. The last time we were in that dugout, Drew pitched really well for us, but he pitched even better tonight. We just followed his lead. And he helped put us out front, which is what you want your starter to do,” Vitello said during the post-game press conference.
According to Peter Burns of the SEC Network, Tennessee is the first team in 20 years with four different players to hit 20-plus home runs in a season.
The Volunteers lead the country with 177 home runs this season.
This CWS marks the first time The Volunteers have started 2-0.
North Carolina center fielder Vance Honeycutt hit his 27th home run of the season with a solo shot over the left-center field wall in the top of the sixth inning.
This was the first time in CWS history since 1984 that the home team won the first six games.
The 2024 #MCWS is the first time since 1984 that the home team won the first six games. pic.twitter.com/mokZnyIuox
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 17, 2024
No. 4 North Carolina (48-15) will play No. 8 Florida State (48-16) in the elimination round on Tuesday, June 18, at 2 p.m. EST.
No. 1 Tennessee (57-12) will wait to see who they will play on Wednesday, June 19, at 2 p.m. EST. Their record is 2-0 at the 2024 NCAA Division I CWS.
No. 2 Kentucky (46-14) will play No. 3 Texas A&M (50-13) on Monday, June 17, at 7 p.m. EST in the double-elimination round.
No. 10 North Carolina State (38-22) will play Florida (34-29) on Monday, June 17 at 2 p.m. EST in the elimination round.
All of the 2024 NCAA Division I CWS games will be televised on the ESPN family networks.
(Photo Credit: Cole Moore / The Daily Beacon)
