Aaron Combs struck out three batters in the bottom of the ninth despite surrendering two runs to allow Tennessee Baseball to hold on for a 6-5 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in Game 3 of the College World Series in the finals. In the process, they captured their first national championship in school history.
Zander Sechrist allowed one run through five innings, and Christian Moore and Dylan Dreiling both hit home runs. Tennessee Baseball won the Best of Three series after losing the first game on Saturday and trailing 1-0 going into the seventh inning of an elimination game Saturday.
Moore led off the bottom of the first with his homer to give UT 1-0 lead. In the third, Travis Chestnut reached second off a bunt thanks to a throwing error, and Gavin Grahovac then drove him in with a single to tie it up for A&M.
However, Blake Burke led off the bottom of that inning with a double, and he reached third on a ground out from Billy Amick before Dylan Dreiling sent him home on a sac fly. A Kavaris Tears single sent Dreiling to second, and Dean Curley sent him home on a single despite being thrown out trying to turn it into a double.
Dreiling then registered two more RBIs with a two-out home run in the bottom of the seventh, as Amick had singled earlier in the inning. Then Hunter Ensley singled, and Tears drove him in with a double to extend the Vols’ lead to 6-1.
Nate Snead came in for Sechrist in the fifth and carried the Vols through the seventh without surrendering a run. Dylan Loy surrendered two runs in the eighth, and then Kirby Connell came in to strike out the final two batters. Aaron Combs then came in and closed it out in the ninth despite giving up two runs.
Justin Lamkin started for A&M and was pulled before the end of the third inning after giving up three runs. A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle then turned to his two relievers from the game his team won Friday, as Josh Stewart pitched through the fifth inning.
Evan Aschenbech then came in at the bottom of the sixth and, despite a superb season as the best closer in baseball, allowed the three runs in the seventh. He had only allowed one earned run the entire NCAA Tournament leading up to that point.
In addition to winning the SEC Regular Season, SEC Tournament and College World Series championship, Tennessee Baseball is the first No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament to win it all since the Miami Hurricanes in 1999. The Vols also finish with 60 wins and 13 losses. A&M finished 53-15.
