College baseball’s best offense was on display Sunday in Omaha.
Going up against another high-octane lineup, Tennessee’s bats reigned supreme in a 6-1 victory over North Carolina in the Men’s College World Series. The top-seeded Vols improved to 2-0 in the double-elimination format, while North Carolina fell to 1-1 and an elimination game against ACC rival Florida State.
Starting pitchers Shea Sprague (North Carolina) and Drew Beam (Tennessee) had the early lead in their first runs through opposing lineups, as neither team scored a hit in the first three innings of the game. North Carolina struck first in the top of the fourth inning with a single by Parks Harber, but did not register a run.
Tennessee then opened things up in the bottom of a tough fourth inning by Sprague. With two on and two outs, Kavares Tears broke the scoreless tie with a three-run home run on Sprague’s 26th pitch of the inning.
Sprague threw 32 pitches in the fourth before the inning was over. Then he allowed a leadoff home run to Reese Chapman in the fifth, and his day was done.
North Carolina put Beam to work in a fifth inning that drew 27 pitches from the Tennessee starter. But a Colby Wilkerson strikeout stranded two runners and kept the Tar Heels off the scoreboard.
UNC got another chance in the seventh when it followed a leadoff home run by Vance Honeycutt with two singles to put a two-man lead with no outs while trailing 4-1. But Anthony Donofrio was eliminated trying to steal second with runners on the corners and one out. Gavin Gallaher struckout reliever Kirby Connell then ended the UNC team with a single.
There was no late-inning rally this time for the Tar Heels, who earned four of their six NCAA Tournament victories on their final at-bat, including Friday’s walk-off win over Virginia in their MCWS opener. Instead, Tennessee later added unnecessary insurance and now needs one win in two potential games against North Carolina or Florida State to advance to the best-of-three MCWS finals.
The state of Florida eliminates Virginia
In the early elimination game Sunday, Florida State struck early and often, holding off a late Virginia surge for the 7-3 win.
The Seminoles improved to 1-1 to advance to North Carolina. Virginia fell to a season-ending 0-2 in MCWS play.
Florida State scored first, with a bases-loaded walk in the third inning, followed by a solo home run by left fielder Jaime Ferrer in the fourth. But in the fifth inning, the Seminoles really shined: Designated hitter Marco Dinges hit an RBI single, followed immediately by Ferrer hitting a three-run home run to give Florida State a 6-0 lead. Shortstop Alex Lodise added another run with a solo homer in the sixth inning.
Virginia got two back in the seventh inning with a pair of RBI singles. After a brief stoppage of play in the eighth to tend to the home plate umpire, who was clocked in the chin by a bouncing pitch, Virginia left fielder Anthony Stephan hit an RBI double to narrow Florida State’s lead a little further.
Despite the Cavaliers’ late push, Florida State ended the ninth inning with a double play to close out Virginia and stay in Omaha for another game.
Key statistics
Florida State pitcher Carson Dorsey had a big day, throwing 106 pitches over seven innings with seven strikeouts and holding the Cavaliers scoreless through six innings.
Virginia’s Jay Woolfolk started well on the mound, striking out three batters, but he appeared to injure his right knee after Ferrer’s first home run and was pulled in the fourth inning.
Highlights
Although Virginia struggled on offense, there were a few defensive bright spots, including this run-stealing catch from Harrison Didawick in the second inning.
The biggest highlight was Ferrer’s second home run, which pushed Florida State to a demanding lead and extended Ferrer’s dominance that night.
What they say
“Two strikes [home runs] on Father’s Day is great, especially with my dad in the stands,” Ferrer said after the game, adding that he and his father planned to have dinner afterwards to celebrate.
Ferrer also spoke during the post-game press conference about that particularly hot fifth inning for the Seminoles:
“It’s great. I always say hitting is very contagious. We see the guys in front of you putting up good at-bats and they’re having success. It means the game plan that we’re going to the plate is working. And it gives us confidence.”
“To see them play their best game, that was just a thrill that I’ll never forget here,” Florida State coach Link Jarrett said at the post-game press conference, referring to the team’s reaction after the loss against Tennessee in a walk-off on Friday.
“These guys did the real work today,” Jarrett added. But I’m proud of this team’s response and response. I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced anything like Friday night, and I haven’t been part of any reaction to anything that I might have experienced. never seen on this stage before.”
What’s next
North Carolina plays Florida State on Tuesday and the loser is eliminated. The winner will then face Tennessee and must win two in a row to advance to the MCWS finals.
