The University of Tennessee Volunteers officially won its first-ever College World Series on Monday night after defeating Texas A&M 6-5 in a winner-take-all Game 3.
Tennessee bounced back after a tough 9-5 loss to the Aggies in Game 1 of the series, in which Texas A&M put up seven runs in the first three innings, with the Volunteers securing a 4-1 victory in Game 2.
The second game saw the Vols trailing for nearly the entirety of the game until they scored two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, with all four runs coming after the Aggies had already secured two outs.
The final game in the series was a different story as infield Christian Moore hit a lead-off homerun to give Tennessee an early lead before extending the advantage to 6-1 at the end of the seventh inning.
Texas A&M began a comeback effort in the final two innings, scoring four combined runs, but could not tie it after pitcher Aaron Combs ended the game with two strikeouts to give the Vols a 6-5 win.
Outfielder Dylan Dreiling was awarded the MCWS Most Outstanding Player award after finishing the tournament batting .541 with three home runs and 11 RBIs, per The Knoxville News Sentinel.
Dreiling became the first player in CWS history to hit a home run in all three games of the finals since the best-of-three series began in 2003, saying after the game that he “kind of blacked out” when he hit a two-run bomb in the bottom of the seventh.
“I know first pitch I overswung on a heater way up. I told myself, just see the ball deep and put a good swing on something. He gave me a changeup over the middle. I tried to stay back and put a good swing on it,” he said, as reported by ESPN.
Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello credited his team for winning two straight games just minutes after the final strikeout of the series, saying that “kids are tough these days.”
“These guys will do whatever you ask them to do. I know our fans got us through that tough inning. That was a group effort on the mound. Incredible group of guys. Team chemistry,” Vitello added, per 24/7 Sports.
Tennessee has had enormous success under Vitello since he arrived in 2017, making five straight NCAA Tournaments and three appearances in the CWS over a four-year span, with the program also securing the first national championship in program history, per Front Office Sports.
Prior to Vitello’s arrival in Knoxville, the Vols had missed the NCAA Tournament for 13 straight seasons.
Tennessee became the first top overall national seed to win the College World Series since the University of Miami won in 1999, according to ESPN.
This CWS victory capped off one of the best college baseball seasons in recent memory, as Tennessee finished the season as the national champions, Southeastern Conference champions, and an overall record of 60-13.
