With proper apologies to The Farmer in the Dell, hi, ho, the merry-o, to Arkansas we go.
It took an extra game but Tennessee baseball qualified for the NCAA Super Regional in Fayetteville with a rousing 11-5 victory over Wake Forest Monday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. A good time was had by almost all. It was loud at the great playground.
This will be five supers in a row, prelims to the College World Series. Tennessee sure would like to make it back to Omaha and have a chance to defend its 2024 national championship. Repeating almost never happens.
The Vols will begin a best-of-three set against the Razorbacks on Friday. TV will tell us when. Last time they met, in mid-May, Tennessee lost two of three. Tennessee lost two of three to almost everybody in the second half of the Southeastern Conference season.
Opponents in the Knoxville regional don’t believe a word of that. The Vols mauled Miami of Ohio on Friday and knocked around Cincinnati on Saturday night. They lost a shocker to the Demon Deacons on Sunday but got more than even the second time around.
There were two dramatic highlights, big ones, extra specials.
Tennessee scored seven runs in the fourth inning. Freshman third baseman Manny Marin hit his third home run of the season. Yes, it was unexpected. Two were on.
Power batter Andrew Fischer slugged his 24th, a two-run shot. The crowd went in the general direction of wild. Long before the game, Fischer had asked for fan support. He lit the fuse.
The gutty Deacons chipped away at the deficit until Liam Doyle came storming in from the bullpen with one on and two out in the seventh. He was animated. Maybe energized is a more appropriate word. He wiped out the final seven batters. They didn’t have a chance. Five fanned.
Doyle and jubilant teammates jumped around. That was a warm-up to what Vitello did. He ran and jumped into Doyle’s open arms and appeared to be beating him badly. It looked like brotherly love.
“I do love him. I’m blessed to have him in my life,” Vitello said.
Doyle said “there’s no other coach I would rather play for.”
The big pitcher wouldn’t have dared name a replacement.
Tennessee did not get off to a sizzling start. Pitching was almost certain to be a problem. AJ Russell, mostly used up on Saturday, retired five Deacons but gave up a two-run home run to Matt Conte. Vitello called in freshman Brayden Krenzel.
Tennessee had the bases loaded in the third with no outs. It scored one. A double play extinguished the threat.
The Vols batted around plus one in the fourth-inning outburst. Hunter Ensley and Dean Curley walked. Reese Chatman batted in a run with a checked-swing single that traveled only a few feet. Levi Clark was hit by a pitch. Marin’s home run made Levi feel better. Gavin Kilen singled. Fischer connected. There was great joy in the arena.
Wake Forest didn’t go away. Matt Scannell’s home run made it 8-4 in the fifth. The Deacons got another run in the sixth. Doyle closed the proverbial door. Tennessee scored three more runs it didn’t really need.
One loss: Tennessee’s Cannon Peebles thought umpire Casey Moser miscalled one pitch too many and said something that triggered an ejection. The penalty includes a one-game suspension. Peebles is the primary catcher. Stone Lawless will take his place in game one against Arkansas
One record: Doyle now has the UT record for strikeouts in a season. His 158 is four more than what Luke Hochevar did in 2005.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
Tony almost blew it waiting one pitch too late to replace Russel, who was obviously fading. I told my friend watching with me that “he needs to make the pitching change”, I knew Vitello was trying to get Russel through the 5th, but that backfired. Thankfully the offense got those 2 back plus 1. Doyle is the most exciting baseball player I’ve ever seen . Crazy good with abounding energy. Simply amazing player. A Star if ever I saw one. Now, let’s go roast some PIG!