Saturday night’s NCAA baseball regional marathon between top-seeded Clemson and second-seeded Tennessee was containing a little bit of everything for everybody, except for Hunter Ensley.
The center fielder and 2-hole hitter for the Volunteers was 0-for-6 with four strikeouts entering his at-bat in the 14th inning, when he connected on a double to the wall in right-center field that scored Maui Ahuna from first and gave Tennessee a 6-5 lead.
Seth Halvorsen made sure the lead held up, and the Vols had their biggest win of the season in just under five hours before 6,275 fans inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
“I’m just appreciative to be a part of that thing,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said in a news conference. “It was special for both sides. There are a lot of plays you could analyze, and they all made up one crazy game.”
Halvorsen threw 42 pitches, which followed 90 by starter Chase Dollander and 99 by reliever Chase Burns. Vitello said he tried to take Burns out of the game but that Burns gave him the “Heisman” stiff-arm.