The Men’s College World Series Finals officially kicks off Saturday at 6:30 p.m. as the Texas A&M Aggies will match up against the University of Tennessee Volunteers in a best two-out-of-three series to determine the top team in baseball.
Texas A&M enters the Men’s College World Series Finals with an overall record of 52-13, going 8-0 in the postseason and finishing the regular season as the fourth-ranked team in the country.
The Aggies had a difficult route to the final series of the year, defeating the University of Florida Gators twice and the University of Kentucky Wildcats on their way to the finals.
Texas A&M also became the first team to hold the Gators scoreless in a game this season, with Florida’s last scoreless outing coming in a previous 10-0 loss in 2022 to the Aggies.
This Finals appearance will be the first for Aggies head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who said he was excited to finally reach this point in the year after making the tournament numerous times at TCU and with the Aggies before losing in an earlier round.
“I’m tired of leaving before the championship, so personally it’s awesome. It’s fun to get to be a part of,” he said, per ESPN.
“Excited to play an awesome Tennessee team, one of the best college teams that I’ve — I mean, they really have a great team,” he added.
Texas A&M will face a dominant Tennessee team that has spent much of the year as the top-ranked team in college baseball. The Tigers finished their 70 games of the year so far with a record of 58-12.
The Volunteers finished the year as the Southeastern Conference champions, defeating the Aggies 7-4 in the SEC tournament en route to the conference title.
Each team has at least one heavy hitter in the lineup, as the Volunteers boast infielder Christian Moore, who is tied for the third-most home runs in college baseball with 33 from the team’s 70 games.
Meanwhile, the Aggies feature two players ranked in the top 10 for the most home runs this season.
Outfielder Jace Laviolette is currently tied for the sixth-most home runs this season after sending 28 balls out of the stadium through 65 games, while outfielder Braden Montgomery is tied for the 11th-most with 27 home runs.
This heavy-hitting series will take place over the next three days, with games two and three, if necessary, on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. and Monday at 1 p.m.