OMAHA, Nebraska— Tennessee baseball’s Friday night went from horrible to magical, and both ESPN and Tennessee Athletics have video of it.
Dylan Dreiling’s walk-off single capped a frantic late rally that pushed top-ranked Tennessee to a 12-11 College World Series victory over Florida State at Charles Schwab Field, and ESPN and Tennessee sports tweeted several camera angles of the walk-off thriller.
The win improved top-seeded Tennessee to 56-12 and dropped eighth-seeded Florida State to 47-16, but more importantly, it advanced the Vols to a Sunday night winners’ bracket game against fourth-seeded North Carolina, while dropping the Seminoles to a Sunday afternoon elimination game against ACC rival Virginia.
Star sophomore second baseman Christian Moore had arguably the best performance in Tennessee baseball history, going 5-for-6 at the plate and becoming only the second player in College World Series history and the first since 1956 to hit for the cycle in a single game. Moore also completed his cycle in his first four plate appearances before adding a double to help the Vols rally in the ninth inning. Moore’s double was the first of four straight two-out hits, which stretched, tied, and eventually won the game.
However, a lot had happened before that.
Tennessee led 4-1 in the third inning but fell behind 7-4 due to walks, fielding miscues, and barreled balls. The Vols’ traditional Game One strategy of opening with senior southpaw Chris Stamos and junior righty AJ Causey failed, with both pitchers struggling and leaving the game before Tennessee recorded an out in the third. Nonetheless, the Vols would have reduced the damage and maintained their advantage if not for another defensive gaffe that plagued them in a stunningly nervous start.
From there, Tennessee faced a tall climb, which became much steeper when left fielder Jamie Ferrer blasted a two-run home run off Vols sophomore righty stopper Aaron Combs in the top of the fourth, giving the Noles a 9-4 advantage.
Tennessee got a spark from junior right fielder Kavares Tears’ two-run home slam in the bottom of the fifth, cutting the lead to 9-6, and Moore added to the momentum with a 440-foot, 117-mph blast over the center field wall in the bottom of the sixth, making it 9-7.
However, designated hitter Marco Dinges kept FSU in the game with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the eighth, increasing the Noles’ lead to 11-7.
Dreiling’s RBI single gave Tennessee one run back in the bottom of the eighth, but the Vols still trailed 11-8 heading into the ninth inning.
Tears led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple off the center field wall, and he scored moments later on a sacrifice fly from freshman shortstop Dean Curley to the right field warning track, but the bases were clean, the deficit was 11-9, and the Vols had two outs.
As a pinch hitter, sophomore catcher Cannon Peebles worked a full-count walk, but senior catcher Cal Stark flew out to the third baseman in foul territory, bringing Tennessee to its last out. Moore then hit a full-count double down the left field line, putting two runners in scoring position for junior first baseman Blake Burke, who was fortunate to avoid what appeared to be a check swing that would have finished the game. Burke took advantage of the break, hitting a full-count single up the middle to tie the game 11-11. Junior third baseman Billy Amick then singled into left field to put the winning run on base, and Dreiling — a lefty who has pounded lefties all season — took a 1-0 breaking ball from FSU lefty Connor Hults and shot it into the left center field gap, where Burke scored.
Dreiling was surrounded by his teammates, who ripped off his shirt in the outfield, as the Vols celebrated one of their program’s most unexpected and significant victories.
Tennessee sophomore righty throws hard. Nate Snead earned the win on the mound, pitching 2.1 shutout innings from the bullpen and improving to 10-2 on the season. Senior lefty Brennen Oxford suffered his first defeat of the season, allowing three hits and three earned runs while walking one and recording only one out in the ninth inning.