KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 1 Tennessee took the lead and then kept their foot on the gas pedal as they beat Evansville 12-1 in Game 3 of the NCAA Tournament Super Regional to punch their ticket to the College World Series on Sunday night inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols fell behind in the top of the first inning. With a runner on first and second base with two outs, Brent Widder hit a single to right field and Chase Hug rounded third and beat out the throw home. The Purple Aces went up 1-0.
Christian Moore didn't have a hit in Saturday's Game 2 loss. In the bottom of the first inning, he did what he has been doing best all season, which is knocking them out of the park. He hit a leadoff solo home run to tie the game 1-1.
Blake Burke singled on the next at-bat and advanced to second base on a fielding error with no outs. However, Tennessee's next three batters flew out to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Dean Curley hit a solo home run that gave the Vols a 2-1 lead. In the next at bat, Dalton Bargo hit a solo home run to put UT up 3-0.
Later in the inning with a runner on first and second base, Burke hit a double up the third base line that brought in Stark. UT went up 4-1. Then Billy Amick grounded out to second base with runners on second and third base, but it brought in Moore for a 5-1 lead. Burke was left on third base as the inning ended with the Vols up four.
Tennessee was a little shaky with fielding in the top of the fourth inning and Evansville eventually got the bases loaded with two outs. However, Zander Sechrist ended the half-inning by forcing a groundout / UT remained up 5-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Bargo smacked another one over the fence. Another solo home run put UT up 6-1.
Moore then hit his second solo home run of the game. sending one over the center field wall and giving UT a 7-1 lead. Burke then hit a double. Amick sent a two-run home run over the center field wall. UT led 9-1. It was the sixth home run of the game for the Vols, which tied a program record for most by a UT team in NCAA Tournament history.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Stark hit a three-run home run to give Tennessee a 12-1 lead. His home run helped UT top their program record of most home runs in a single game in the NCAA Tournament with seven.
Zander Sechrist pitched a career-high 6.1 innings and allowed one run, but none earned. He allowed six hits and dealt six strikeouts.
Tennessee advances to the College World Series for the third time in four seasons. This is their seventh appearance of all time. They have never won the national championship. The closest they came was runner-up in 1951.
It is the program's first back-to-back College World Series appearances,
