All the talk of Tennessee Baseball under Tony Vitello has been about the flashiness of two years ago, the home run hitting machine of this year’s lineup and the elite starting pitching developed by Frank Anderson. However, the bullpen was who kept UT afloat and carried them to the College World Series finals.
Rocky Top clinched its spot to the best of three for the national championship, which, begins Saturday, by beating the Florida State Seminoles a second time, 7-2 in this one, on Wednesday. They still haven’t lost a game in the event. It’s their first CWS finals appearance since 1951.
Sure, starting pitching was superb for the most part. Drew Beam pitched a masterpiece as the Vols beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 6-1 Sunday, and Zander Sechrist pitched a shutout through six innings to help them beat FSU on Wednesday.
Also, the offense was still there. UT’s epic comeback against FSU in their first matchup last Friday, a 12-11 win after trailing 11-8 in the bottom of the ninth, was due to that. Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Kavares Tears have been stars in this event.
However, the one constant was late-inning pitching. The Vols have not yet allowed a run from the eighth inning onward in the College World Series, and the bullpen didn’t surrender a run in their final two wins en route to the finals. Nate Snead has yet to allow a run in over five innings pitched. Kirby Connell has allowed one in just under five innings.
Okay, elephant in the room, Aaron Combs allowed four runs in three innings Friday. However, the starting pitching dug a hole for the bullpen, as Chris Stamos and A.J. Causey gave up a combined six runs in two innings. Then there were three errors committed by the defense, including one that is the only reason for the run Connell allowed.
Simply put, all aspects of what makes Tennessee Baseball great carried them to the CWS Finals, but the Vols wouldn’t be there without the clutch pitching of their bullpen. Now, they can reset their rotation ahead of the series Saturday, and if everything else stays the same, they can bring home a national title.
