It’s true that every great thing must come to an end.
And with Tennessee’s 7-3 loss to Notre Dame on Sunday, it was a pretty simple calculus if you’re wondering how it all happened. The Fighting Irish played well. Tennessee did not when it mattered.
The Vols played like the No. 1 team in the country for six innings, but watched as their block tower came crashing down in the seventh. That’s when the Fighting Irish made their move.
Chase Burns was cooking in his first postseason start in a Tennessee uniform. The SEC All-Freshman Team selection allowed just two hits and one run to cross. He was truly in a groove, but that faded quickly.
The seventh started with a double from Carter Putz before David LaManna blasted a two-run homer to right field. Instead of pulling Burns, Vitello kept him out to finish the inning.
It’s a decision that proved disastrous. Burns left one over the plate to Jack Brannigan, who launched the second long ball of the inning beyond the left field fence. He had just missed a home run earlier in the at-bat, one that went slightly foul.
For Vitello, that’s when the hook should have come.
“He had just gotten their best hitter out,” Vitello said on the decision. “Chase wanted the ball, he took ownership of the game and I felt good about the matchup. I should have taken the ball after (Brannigan’s) foul home run.”
It seemed like everything shifted in that seventh inning, but Notre Dame was far from done. The Fighting Irish added three more insurance runs in the eighth inning.
Putz brought two more Fighting Irish batters home with two outs. Then, red-hot Jack Zyska blasted an RBI single through the gap in left to increase the lead to four.
It’s easy to blame pitching here, but it was Burns who kept the final score from being even more egregious. There are arguments to be made that Vitello should have pulled the wearing freshman earlier, but it’s a moot point. The Fighting Irish tagged Kirby Connell for three runs late, too.
Really, the Fighting Irish just played better baseball when it counted.
“Congratulations to Notre Dame,” Vitello said postgame. “They have a lot to do with what I’m at fault for as far as decision making and putting your guys in a position to succeed. And I didn’t do that.”
Tennessee had a chance to pour it on the struggling Irish early. The Vols extended their lead to 3-1 and had a man on second with just one out. Instead of bringing him home, Lipcius struck out swinging and Gilbert popped up to the shortstop.
It was a microcosm of Tennessee’s day from the plate. The Vols, fresh off one of the most dominant seasons of offensive baseball the game has ever seen, couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat Sunday.
The heart of Tennessee’s lineup – Jordan Beck, Drew Gilbert and Trey Lipscomb – combined for zero hits in nine at-bats. Only Seth Stephenson collected more than one hit on the day.
Tennessee also struggled on defense when Notre Dame started its late rally. A routine ground ball came Lipscomb’s way in the eighth that should have been an out. Instead, Lipscomb threw it low and Lipcius couldn’t make the play at first. The Irish added three runs with two outs following the error.
Tennessee extends the streak of No. 1 overall seeds not reaching Omaha with the loss, joining 2019 UCLA and 2021 Arkansas. All three lost in the Super Regional round.
“It’s just the way that it goes,” Vitello said. “It’s not easy, it’s not automatic.”
It’s easy to say, ‘That’s just baseball’ but it’s hard to wonder about the potential Tennessee stranded on base this season. The Vols led the nation in home runs, ERA and garnered 57 wins.
Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett realized that. So did most of the rest of the country.
“I see an extremely talented team,” Jarrett said. “My advice is just keep it up. You can’t build a better machine than what we just faced.”
And with that, one of the most memorable seasons of Tennessee baseball in its history comes to a close.
