The third time was the charm Friday night for the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers at the College World Series.
And in quite the dramatic fashion.
Tennessee used four straight two-out hits in the bottom of the ninth inning to turn an 11-9 deficit into a thrilling 12-11 victory over No. 8 Florida State in Omaha, Nebraska. Dylan Dreiling had the fourth of those hits, with his drive to left-center field scoring Blake Burke to give the Vols their first walk-off win of a 56-12 season.
The Vols will now play North Carolina (48-14) at 7 p.m. Eastern on Sunday on ESPN2, while the Seminoles (47-16) will face Virginia (46-16) at 2 p.m. Sunday in an elimination game at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
Christian Moore began Tennessee’s two-out rally with a double to left to put runners on second and third. Moore finished 5-for-6 and became the first player in more than 50 years to hit for the cycle at the College World Series.
“I was just so locked in and eager to win and trying to get that next at-bat,” Moore said afterward on the ESPN telecast. “It was just crazy, and I’m super blessed to be in this situation. It’s surreal, and I’m kind of speechless.
“There is a lot going on right now. We just walked off in Omaha.”
Burke followed Moore with a single up the middle that scored two runs to tie the game at 11. Moments earlier, Burke had a check swing with two strikes that was ruled as a ball, which kept the Vols from losing.
Billy Amick had the third of Tennessee’s four consecutive two-out hits, a single to left that got Burke in scoring position for Dreiling.
Tennessee is in the College World Series for the third time in four years but lost its opening game in its previous two trips in that span. Those opening defeats were due to the pitching performances of Virginia’s Andrew Abbott in 2021 and LSU’s Paul Skenes last year, but the Vols on Friday night overcame some implosions on the mound and defensively against the high-powered Seminoles.
“I don’t think we’ve played good ball,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said midway through the telecast. “There is probably some frustration if you’re watching at home or cheering from the stands, because we wish we could have handled some situations better. By that, I don’t mean the moment or playing in Omaha or anything like that, because we’re a pretty mature group, but we’ve just had some plays that we’ve had the opportunity to make.
“Obviously, you’ve got to throw strikes, too, so we’ve got to do a better job of just playing catch.”
Tennessee built a 4-1 advantage after two innings but then gave up a six-run third, when the Seminoles racked up three singles, a double and a triple. They also benefited from a walk, a hit batter and a fielding error by Burke at first that turned a potential inning-ending double play into two runs that put Florida State ahead at 6-4.
Jaime Ferrer’s two-run home run to left field in the fourth inning gave Florida State its biggest lead at 9-4, but the Vols pulled within 9-7 on a two-run homer to right by Kavares Tears in the fifth inning and a solo homer to center by Moore in the sixth. Florida State responded in the seventh with a two-run double to left-center by Marco Dinges that made it 11-7.
Vols pitchers Chris Stamos and AJ Causey, who have been such an effective tandem in series-opening games this season, combined to record just six outs. Causey was pulled in the third inning after allowing the first five batters to reach, which pulled the Seminoles within 4-3 and loaded the bases.
Stamos and Causey threw a combined 26 pitches and walked three batters in the top of the first, but the Vols erased a 1-0 deficit when Moore led off the bottom of the first with a triple to the wall in right-center and scored on a Burke single to left. The triple was Moore’s first of the season.
Following an Amick walk, Dreiling singled up the middle to score Burke and provide the Vols a 2-1 lead.
Tennessee’s 4-1 advantage in the second inning came about with a two-out rally that began with a Cal Stark walk and continued with Moore doubling into the left-field corner. The throw home was fielded by Jaxson West in plenty of time for the out, but when Stark slid at the plate, the ball popped loose, which scored a run and allowed Moore to take third.
Burke then hit a dribbler in front of the mound that resulted in a throw from Jamie Arnold that took first baseman Daniel Cantu off the bag for an error and enabled the Vols to take a three-run lead.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.