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Schlossnagle leaves Texas A&M baseball to coach at the University of Texas

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Less than 24 hours after Jim Schlossnagle implied that he would continue to coach a Texas A&M Aggies program that reached the Men’s College World Series championship game, he was announced on Tuesday night as baseball coach of the University of Texas Longhorns, the Aggies’ traditional in-state rival.

“What a home run hire,” Texas president Jay Hartzell said in a statement. “Coach Schlossnagle is the best in the business, his long list of accomplishments is incredible, and his track record of building great programs is well documented.

“We are the premier baseball program in the country with legendary coaches, our six national championships and record 38 College World Series appearances, so it’s certainly fitting that we hired a coach of his caliber to lead us.”

Schlossnagle has spent the last three seasons coaching the Aggies, taking them to unprecedented heights. The former longtime coach of the TCU Horned Frogs led A&M to the MCWS in 2022 and again last week. The 2022 team went 2-2 in Omaha.

This time, the Aggies were loaded with talent, and even with injuries to a couple of key players, they made a spirited run to the finals against the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. No. 3 A&M finished 53-15 on the season, 9-2 in the NCAA tournament and 4-2 in the MCWS.

On Monday, in Austin, as the MCWS in Omaha was preparing for the championship showdown, Texas officials acknowledged that they had parted ways with eight-year coach David Pierce. By Monday night, Tennessee held off A&M 6-5 in an emotional winner-take-all contest.

In postgame interviews, a question to Schlossnagle about his “future in Aggieland” sparked an emotional response.

The question went like this: “With respect to the difficult outcome tonight, with the rumors circulating today about a specific job opening, what do you have to say about your future in Aggieland?”

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle responded. “But … I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and that hasn’t changed in my mind. That’s unfair to talk about something like that.

“That’d be like you asking (Braden) Montgomery if he’s going to sign in the (Major League Baseball) draft. But, I understand you got to ask the question. But, I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job, and I’ve poured every ounce of my soul in this job. And I’ve given this job every single ounce I could possibly give it. So, write that.”

In a statement from Schlossnagle published Tuesday night by ESPN reporter Dave Wilson, he thanked Texas A&M administrators and the fans “for an incredible experience during my time at Texas A&M.”

“Although I know many will be upset with my decision, I chose to make a change to join a longtime friend to continue my career as a college baseball coach,” the coach said. “The run to the (national title) game was truly a remarkable one this year, and I will savor the memories and true friendships I have made there for a lifetime.”

In Austin, Schlossnagle will be reunited with Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, who was athletic director at TCU when Schlossnagle coached the Horned Frogs.

Schlossnagle’s key staffers at A&M will follow him to Texas, including assistants Nolan Cain, Michael Earley and Max Weiner.

Tennessee holds off Texas A&M, 6-5, to win the Men’s College World Series

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Dylan Dreiling homered for the third straight game to spark a three-run seventh inning, and the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers held on at the end to win the Men’s College World Series with a 6-5 victory Monday night over the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies.

With the win, Tennessee rebounded from a championship series-opening loss to A&M and claimed victories on consecutive days in Omaha, Neb., to put an end to the so-called “Curse of the No. 1 seed.” They became the first top-seeded team to win the NCAA baseball tournament since 1999, when the Miami Hurricanes won the title.

For the Vols, it was a sweet victory, one that yielded their first national title. On the flip side, it was a brutal loss for the Aggies, who were also looking to win the championship for the first time, only to fall painfully short on the last day of the season.

In a winner-take-all game at Charles Schwab Stadium, the Volunteers entered the bottom of the seventh leading by only two runs when they started to rally against Aggies relief ace Evan Aschenbeck. First, Dreiling hit a two-run homer. Then, after a Hunter Ensley single, Kavares Tears added an RBI double to make it 6-1.

The Tennessee fans at Charles Schwab Stadium were roaring on the play when Ensley scored all the way from first base. With Tears’ blast hitting off the wall in center, Ensley ran hard. He kept going, contorting his body and barely getting around A&M catcher Jackson Appel to score. The Aggies asked for an umpire’s review but the call was upheld.

In a drama-filled ending, A&M scored two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings. But after Tennessee reliever Aaron Combs threw a wild pitch that allowed the Aggies’ second run in the ninth and their fifth in the game to score, he struck out Ted Burton for the last out to nail down the victory.

On Saturday night, in the first game of the championship series, the Aggies jumped out to an early six-run lead and defeated the Vols, 9-5. They led by one run in Game 2 going into the seventh inning but couldn’t hold on, eventually falling in a 4-1 decision. Dreiling, a sophomore from Hays, Kan., homered in each of the three games.

Records

Texas A&M

Overall 53-15
In the NCAA tournament 9-2
In the MCWS 4-2

Tennessee

Overall 60-13
In the NCAA tournament 10-2
In the MCWS 5-1

Notable

In postgame interviews, a question to Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle about his “future in Aggieland” sparked an emotional response. The question came in the wake of developments in Austin earlier in the day that the University of Texas had fired baseball coach David Pierce, and that the Longhorns were looking for a replacement.

The question to Schlossnagle went like this: “With respect to the difficult outcome tonight, with the rumors circulating today about a specific job opening, what do you have to say about your future in Aggieland?”

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s pretty selfish of you to ask that question, to be honest with you,” Schlossnagle responded. “But … I left my family to be the coach at Texas A&M. I took the job at Texas A&M to never take another job again, and that hasn’t changed in my mind. That’s unfair to talk about something like that.

“That’d be like you asking (Braden) Montgomery if he’s going to sign in the (Major League Baseball) draft. But, I understand you got to ask the question. But, I gave up a big part of my life to come take this job, and I’ve poured every ounce of my soul in this job. And I’ve given this job every single ounce I could possibly give it. So, write that.”

Montgomery, who hit 27 home runs this season to go along with 85 RBI, is projected as a first-round pick in the July draft. He didn’t play in the MCWS after breaking his ankle in the first game of the Super Regional round of the NCAA playoffs. As a result, the Aggies played short-handed in Omaha, without both Montgomery and left-handed starting pitcher Shane Sdao.

A&M players gave it their all to the very end in the final game, with Hayden Schott and Jackson Appel enjoying three-hit games and Gavin Grahovac contributing two. Appel scored twice, while Schott and Grahovac scored once. All three of them, along with Caden Sorrell, contributed one RBI apiece.

In the dizzying ninth, Combs entered to pitch for the Vols, trying to protect a three-run lead. But Grahovac greeted him with a double to left field. After Jace LaViolette struck out, Appel came to bat, and Grahovac took third base on a wild pitch that sailed high, tipping off the catcher’s glove and going back to the screen.

At that point, Appel singled to drive in Grahovac, who scored the first run of the inning and the fourth of the game for the Aggies. Throwing hard, Combs settled down and struck out Schott, with Appel moving to second base. Pitching to Burton, Combs faked a pickoff attempt and was called a balk, allowing Appel to take third base. He scored to make it 6-5 when Combs threw another wild pitch.

Finally, Combs settled down and fanned Burton to end the game.

Tennessee starter Zander Sechrist (6-1) worked 5 and 1/3 innings for the win. He allowed one run on six hits and a walk while striking out seven. Nate Snead pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, followed by Dylan Loy and Kirby Connell before Combs closed in the ninth.

Texas A&M’s Justin Lamkin (3-3) went down as the losing pitcher in an effort that went 2 and 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on five hits. The former standout at Corpus Christi Calallen just didn’t seem to have as much pop on his pitches as he did in two starts in MCWS bracket play. In relief, Josh Stewart worked 2 and 1/3 scoreless while Aschenbeck yielded six hits in three innings. He was charged with all three runs in the seventh.

Tennessee pounded out 13 hits, including home runs by Christian Moore and Dylan Dreiling. Moore led off the bottom of the first inning with his 34th of the season. For Dreiling, the homer was his 23rd. Additionally, five players finished with two hits apiece, including Blake Burke, Dreiling, Hunter Ensley, Kavares Tears and Dean Curley.

Kent-led Texas A&M beats No. 1 Tennessee, moves to within one win of a national championship

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With his famous father watching from the grandstands Saturday night, Kaeden Kent kept his NCAA playoff hot streak alive and helped lift the third-seeded Texas A&M Aggies to within one victory of a national championship.

The son of former Major League Baseball standout Jeff Kent homered and drove in four runs, leading the Aggies to a 9-5 victory over the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the opener of the best-of-three title round at the Men’s College World Series.

The Aggies hit well from the outset in front of a packed house in Omaha, Neb., building leads that grew to 7-1 in the middle of the third and to 9-2 in the middle of the seventh.

Undeterred, the Volunteers kept their poise and made it interesting. Rallying against Texas A&M relievers Josh Stewart and Brad Rudis, the Vols scored three times in the seventh to trim the Aggies’ lead to four.

First, Dylan Dreiling hammered a pitch from Stewart for a two-run homer. Stewart had pitched well to that point, but he would be lifted for Rudis, who immediately gave up a long solo homer to Hunter Ensly. When Ensly’s ball landed several rows deep in the left-field pavilion, Tennessee was back in the game, trailing 9-5.

A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle elected to bring in bullpen ace Evan Aschenbeck, who struck out the only two batters he faced in the seventh to prevent further damage.

Aschenbeck finished the game without allowing a run, escaping a one-out, first-and-third situation in the ninth to keep the Aggies undefeated at 9-0 in the NCAA tournament and 4-0 in the MCWS. The Aggies can clinch their first national title in baseball if they can win again Sunday night. A third game would be played on Monday, if necessary.

“I thought we played really well for the most part,” A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “We got a lot of timely hits. Had some really good at bats against some really good pitchers. Tennessee’s got a great pitching staff. They’re a very diverse pitching staff.

“I thought (A&M starter Ryan) Prager battled through some things and (reliever Josh Stewart) was awesome. Evan was Evan. And Kaeden just continues to play outstanding in the back half of the season. It’s one win. Can’t make it anything more than that.”

Entering their fourth game in the MCWS tournament that started on June 13 at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, the Aggies had not trailed on the scoreboard in any of their previous three outings. Once again, they got the early jump, this time against Vols pitchers Chris Stamos and AJ Causey with a two-run first inning.

Gavin Grahovac opened the game with an opposite-field homer to right. It was his 23rd of the season. Jackson Appel followed with a one-out double down the left field line. A fielding error by shortstop Dean Curley compounded Tennessee’s problems, prompting the Vols to replace Stamos with Causey. After Ted Burton struck out, freshman Caden Sorrell drilled an RBI single up the middle.

In retaliation, the Vols scored one run in the bottom of the second off Aggies starter Ryan Prager but failed to capitalize on a few choice opportunities. Consequently, A&M came to bat in the top of the third, leading 2-1. The Aggies immediately took advantage, scoring five runs on four hits and an infield error. Caden Sorrell, Hayden Schott and Kent contributed with run-scoring singles.

Sorrell and Schott drove in one run apiece while Kent’s two-run single made it a 7-1 ballgame.

After the Vols added a run in the bottom of the third to make it 7-2, their prolific offense went into a lull. Prager, a lefty, worked another inning and gave way to Stewart, a righty, who started to frustrate Tennessee hitters with sliders and sweepers. All told, A&M pitching may have won the game from the fourth through the sixth, keeping Tennessee off the scoreboard in that span.

In the top of the seventh, Kent electrified A&M fans with a long homer to right field. For Kent, who replaced injured star Braden Montgomery in the lineup in the Oregon series, it was his third hit of the night and his fourth RBI. With the outburst, the sophomore from Lake Travis High School in Austin hiked his productivity in the NCAA playoffs to 13 hits and 14 RBI in only seven games.

Kent, a sophomore from Lake Travis High School in Austin, said he thinks his surge can be traced to the support that he gets from teammates and members of his family.

“The support that I get and the people that believe in me,” he said. “The people that have my back and I can count on. People like my parents, or my brother. Like, I can look to the stands, and they can give me the … they can pound their chest, like, ‘You got this.’ That puts a lot of relaxation on my mind.”

In regard to the pitch he hit for the home run, he said the pitcher hung a slider, “and I was able to get it.”

Once again, the Aggies won a game with youthful talent making significant contributions. From Kent. From Grahovac, a freshman from Orange, Calif. From Sorrell, another freshman, from Highland Village and Flower Mound Marcus High School.

“Even though they’re young,” Kent said, “I think we’re past the young phase. Gavin Grahovac is so mature. So is Sorrell. They’ve had so much experience (and) they’re good baseball players.”

Kent considers his teammates to be smart players who put in the work to prepare themselves in between games.

“Baseball is a frustrating game,” he said. “So, the consistency and the time that you put in is not always shown out on the field when you play. The countless hours in the cages sometimes turns into a 0-for-4 when you go out on Tuesday. But, it’s just the repetition, man. You’re stacking days on days. It has a compound effect, and you just got to keep pushing through it.”

Records

Texas A&M

Overall 53-13
In the NCAA tournament 9-0
In the MCWS 4-0

Tennessee

Overall 58-13
In the NCAA tournament 8-2
In the MCWS 3-1

Coming up

MCWS title series continues with Game 2 on Sunday at 1 p.m. A Game 3 would be played on Monday if necessary.

Pitching has carried the Aggies to the brink of their first national title

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

If you believe in curses in baseball and you subscribe to the so-called “Curse of the No. 1 seed” in the NCAA tournament, then you probably think the Texas A&M Aggies are destined to beat the Tennessee Volunteers in a best-of-three series this weekend for the Men’s College World Series title.

But if you have been paying close attention to the Aggies since they arrived in Nebraska for the MCWS, then you should know that third-seeded A&M will have a decent chance of beating top-seeded Tennessee, anyway.

Why is that? Well, for as long as young men have been scuffling around on infield dirt and grass outfields in a game dating back to the 1800s, pitching has always served as the key element to success, and A&M’s staff has been the most effective and efficient in Omaha.

The Aggies have have been nothing less than brilliant on the mound in their three games on Charles Schwab Field at TD Ameritrade Park.

In 27 innings, against Florida, Kentucky and Florida, again, A&M pitching has yielded only 16 hits and three earned runs. The staff has struck out 37 and walked 10.

Never mind that the Aggies are hobbled a bit offensively with some of their biggest sticks either sidelined or limited with injuries. Never mind that they have scored only 14 runs on 23 hits. Or, that they are batting a less-than-prodigious .223 as a team in the MCWS.

The A&M pitching has been so good, it has allowed the offense to relax, measure the man on the mound for the opponent and then capitalize when opportunities present themselves.

With ace Ryan Prager scheduled to start tonight, the Aggies would seem to have as good a chance as anyone to beat a Tennessee team that features several of the best hitters in the college game. Not to mention a hearty pitching staff, as well.

Jim Schlossnagle’s team has won 52 games, but Tony Vitello’s has won 58.

“Tennessee is far and away the best team outside of our team this year,” Schlossnagle said. “Pitching. Defense. (They’re) so physical … It doesn’t surprise me what Tony’s done. Not just with his team but with his entire program as a whole. So I’m looking forward to playing against ’em. That’s what you get in (the Southeastern Conference) and that’s what you get in the College World Series.”

Oddly, the top-seeded Miami Hurricanes won the title in 1999 in the first tournament played with a seeded field. But while the Hurricanes were the first top seed to win the championship, they were also the last.

Notable mishaps involving top seeds in the MCWS finals included losses by Texas in both 2004 and 2009.

Two years ago, top-seeded Tennessee advanced to the Super Regional with a whopping 56 wins, only to get beat at home two out of three by Notre Dame. Last season, Wake Forest emerged as the first No. 1 seed to make it to Omaha since 2018, and the Demon Deacons were eliminated in the semifinals, losing to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Notable mishaps involving top seeds in the MCWS finals included losses by Texas in both 2004 and 2009. To Cal State Fullerton and LSU, respectively. So, because this is college baseball, fans will believe what they’re going to believe. Fans are going to talk about superstitions.

Then again, if the Aggies can take two of three from the Vols for the program’s first national title this weekend, it’s more than likely going to happen as a result of pitching than any sort of curse.

Records

Texas A&M

Overall 52-13
In the NCAA tournament 8-0
In the MCWS 3-0

Tennessee

Overall 58-12
In the NCAA tournament 8-1
In the MCWS 3-0

In the title hunt: Texas A&M beats Florida, advances to the MCWS finals for the first time

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Led by a dominant pitching staff, the Texas A&M Aggies have surged into the finals of the Men’s College World Series for the first time. They clinched a spot in the title round after they eliminated the Florida Gators, 6-0, on Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Stadium in Omaha, Neb.

With the victory, the third-seeded Aggies will now focus on trying to capture their first national title in baseball. They’ll have a tough test in the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers. The best-of-three set will commence on Saturday.

Coming into the game against the Gators, the Aggies’ pitching had been the story. They beat the Gators last Saturday, 3-2. They followed up with a 5-1 victory against the Kentucky Wildcats on Monday.

As it turned out, the rematch against the Gators turned into much the same narrative as A&M pitchers, with starter Justin Lamkin leading the way, allowed only four hits. Going back to late Saturday night, the Aggies have now strung zeroes on the scoreboard in 19 of their last 20 innings.

“Great ball game,” A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle told reporters later. “Lamkin was obviously outstanding. The decision was just how long to leave him in there and win the game but still give us a chance over the weekend since we’re down a pitcher.”

Lamkin, a 6-foot-4 lefty from Corpus Christi Calallen, made his second start of the MCWS and made it count with nine strikeouts in five innings. He allowed only three hits and was threatened seriously with runners in scoring position only once.

In the third inning, the Gators loaded the bases with one out. First, Michael Robertson drew a walk. Next, Jac Caglianone beat an infield shift by punching a single through the left side. Cade Kurland then smashed a ball back at Lamkin for an infield single.

At that point, Lamkin struck out Tyler Shelnut. The inning ended when shortstop Ali Camarillo raced into foul territory to catch a pop up off the bat of Colby Shelton.

When Lamkin was replaced to open the sixth, the Aggies went through a bit of uncertainty when Chris Cortez walked two straight. But Josh Stewart entered and used a sweeping curveball to pitch two scoreless frames. Evan Aschenbeck, the stopper of the year in college baseball, finished with the last two innings.

“Stewy made big pitches,” Schlossnagle said. “Got us out of a jam. Cortez will be better next time, I have no doubt.”

Caden Sorrell led the way offensively with a team-high three RBI, one coming on a sacrifice fly and the others on a two-run homer. It was his 11th of the season and his third in the NCAA playoffs. Gavin Grahovac and Kaeden Kent both had two hits and an RBI.

Jace LaViolette, who tweaked a hamstring Monday night against Kentucky, started and played right field but clearly wasn’t 100 percent physically. He went zero for four at the plate and struck out twice.

In the first inning, he was on third base when Sorrell hit his sac fly to center. LaViolette scored on the play but didn’t look smooth as he tried to accelerate. In the field, a fly ball that might have been caught on another night got past him for a double.

Given the circumstances, it’s remarkable that the Aggies are in position to win it all.

They lost star outfielder Braden Montgomery and front-line starting pitcher Shane Sdao for the season with injuries in the Super Regional round. Now, they’re playing with a less-than-100 percent LaViolette, and they’re two wins away from holding up the trophy. One of the big reasons for their success in Omaha is Lamkin, who has pitched eight scoreless innings.

“I think the big part of it is just having self confidence in myself, knowing that I can go out there and compete and play at this level,” Lamkin said. “I think just getting ahead of hitters and having true confidence in all my pitches really helped me out.”

Asked how it feels to become a part of Texas A&M history as the first baseball team to play for a national title, Sorrell talked about how he had always followed the program when he was younger.

“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Sorrell said. “I remember coming to these games when I was like 10 years old and always wanting to be a part of this. You know, finally being here and making it this far, it’s been an amazing feeling. But, obviously, the job is not finished yet.”

A&M’s 8-0 ride through the NCAA tournament has not been without a few hiccups. Namely, the injuries and the accompanying decisions on what to do with personnel. Kent, who stepped into the lineup in Game 1 of the Super Regionals when Montgomery went out, has been the most visible of players coming off the bench to perform well.

The son of former major league infielder Jeff Kent has produced five hits in three games in the MCWS, including two against Kentucky and two against Florida. Another player rising to the occasion has been Stewart, who didn’t pitch in either NCAA regional or the super regional round.

For the first time since May 23, he got into a game on Monday against Kentucky and pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up a run (on a solo homer) and three hits. Against Florida, his emergence was a key in steadying the team after Cortez faltered. Stewart said

“It wasn’t too big of a deal with the break (between games),” Stewart said. “Got work in on the off days, and whatnot, and didn’t try to rise to the occasion, or whatever. Just got back to what we do every single day and just (went) one day at a time, really. Didn’t try to make it bigger than it is.”

Records

Florida: 36-30
In the MCWS: 2-2
In the NCAA tournament: 8-3

Texas A&M 52-13
In the MCWS: 3-0
In the NCAA tournament: 8-0

Notable

The Gators entered the game with one loss, having dropped their opener to the Aggies before rebounding to eliminate both North Carolina State, 5-4, and second-seeded Kentucky, 15-4.

The Gators rolled the dice with the use of freshman Liam Peterson as their starter. Peterson was ineffective against A&M in the opener and once again didn’t have it, walking four of the first five batters that he faced. He was charged with two runs and the loss and fell to 3-6 on the season. Lamkin was the winner and improved to 3-2.

Florida star Jac Caglianone finished his night two for four at the plate. But, fortunately for A&M, he didn’t homer. He had hit home runs in four of five NCAA tournament games coming in.

Tennessee advances to the MCWS finals with a 7-2 victory over Florida State

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers scored three runs in the first inning Wednesday afternoon and cruised past the No. 8 Florida State Seminoles 7-2 and into the finals at the Men’s College World Series.

Blake Burke had two RBI and three of Tennessee’s 10 hits, including a solo homer, to back Tennessee pitchers Zach Secrist, Kirby Connell and Nate Snead, who blanked the hard-hitting Seminoles in eight of nine innings

Daniel Cantu and Alex Lodise homered back to back in the sixth inning for Florida State’s only runs.

Tennessee entered the MCWS as one of the nation’s most potent offenses, but the pitching has also come on strong.

The Vols have allowed only three runs on 12 hits in their last two games. Florida State, which needed two wins in the semifinals to advance, represented a threat to Tennessee’s dominance because of its own potent attack.

But the Seminoles, who lost to the Vols 12-11 last Friday night, could never put anything together.

Records

Tennessee: 58-12 overall, 8-1 in the NCAA tournament, 3-0 in the MCWS
Florida State: 49-17, 7-2 in the NCAA tournament, 2-2 in the MCWS

MCWS recap

Tennessee defeated Florida State, 12-11; defeated North Carolina, 6-1; defeated Florida State, 7-2.

Florida State lost to Tennessee, 12-11; defeated Virginia, 7-3; defeated North Carolina, 9-5, lost to Tennessee, 7-2

Coming up

Tennessee advances to the best-of-three MCWS title round, set for Saturday, Sunday and Monday if necessary, against either Texas A&M or Florida.

Once a .500 team in April, Florida reaches the MCWS semifinals against Texas A&M

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The Florida Gators once looked nothing like a national-title contender. They were once 17-17 on the season and 6-8 in the Southeastern Conference at the end of a season-long, six-game losing streak.

That was in April. By May, at the SEC tournament, the perennial national power had shown some progress with a few victories against highly-ranked opponents but had once again found themselves in trouble. Beaten in the SEC tournament by Vanderbilt, they fell to 28-27 entering a week during which the NCAA tournament selection committee would decide whether the Gators deserved a chance to play again.

Fortunately for the Gators, they survived the cut into the 64-team field, and they were designated as a No. 3 seed out of four teams in the Stillwater Regional. In Stillwater they came alive, winning four out of five games and beating the home-team Oklahoma State Cowboys twice. On their way to the Clemson Super Regional, the Gators stayed hot, winning 10-7 and then 11-10 in 13 innings for a berth in the eight-team Men’s College World Series.

Now they’re in the MCWS semifinals, taking a modest 36-29 record into tonight’s game against the third-seeded and 51-13 Texas A&M Aggies. Once again, the Gators fell down before they rose up and played their best baseball. They lost to the Aggies 3-2 to fall into the losers bracket. Adversity? Florida didn’t flinch, eliminating North Carolina State 5-4 on Monday. On Wednesday, they erupted for seven runs in the first inning and advanced with a 15-4 victory.

As usual, the Gators had plenty of offense. Brody Donay hit two home runs, including a first-inning grand slam. All-American Jac Caglianone hit a solo homer in the sixth inning to give him four homers in his last five games and 35 for the season. Caglianone has 75 for his career to become Florida’s all-time leader. He is also tied for eighth all-time in the NCAA and tied for third in the SEC history books.

Coming up

MCWS semifinals

Wednesday: Florida State vs. Tennessee, in progress
Wednesday: Florida vs. Texas A&M
x-Tennessee and Texas A&M need one win to advance to the finals
x-Florida State and Florida need two wins to advance
x-play in semifinals will be completed Thursday if necessary

Records

Florida State 49-16
In the NCAA tournament: 7-1
In the MCWS: Lost to Tennessee, 12-11; defeated Virginia, 7-3; defeated North Carolina, 9-5.

Tennessee 57-12
In the NCAA tournament: 7-1
In the MCWS: Defeated Florida State, 12-11; defeated North Carolina, 6-1.

Florida 36-29
In the NCAA tournament: 8-2
In the MCWS: Lost to Texas A&M, 3-2; defeated NC State, 5-4; defeated Kentucky, 15-4.

Texas A&M 51-13
In the NCAA tournament: 7-0
In the MCWS: Defeated Florida, 3-2; defeated Kentucky, 5-1.

Tennessee beats North Carolina to remain undefeated at the MCWS

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The Tennessee Volunteers are 2-0 in the Men’s College World Series for the first time in program history after knocking off the North Carolina Tar Heels, 6-1, Sunday night.

With the win, the top-seeded Vols earned two days off and moved into the semifinals. The Tar Heels will play the Florida State Seminoles in a battle of 1-1 teams on Tuesday, with the loser eliminated and the winner moving on to meet Tennessee on Wednesday.

Tennessee won in dramatic fashion in its opening game, beating Florida State 12-11 by scoring four runs in the ninth inning. Beating North Carolina was much less stressful as Kavares Tears and Reese Chapman both hit home runs and starting pitcher Drew Beam allowed one run in five innings.

Kirby Connell and Nate Snead both pitched two scoreless innings to finish off the Tar Heels, who managed only five hits on the day.

Records

Tennessee 57-12
North Carolina 48-15

Coming up

Monday: Florida vs. NC State, 1 p.m., elimination game. Texas A&M vs. Kentucky, 6 p.m. winners bracket.

Tuesday: Florida State vs. North Carolina, 1 p.m., elimination game. Late game, TBA.

Wednesday: Tennessee vs. either Florida State or North Carolina, 1 p.m., semifinals. Late game, TBA.

MCWS: No. 1 Tennessee wins 12-11 on a four-run ninth inning against Florida State

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Dylan Dreiling laced a two-out, game-winning RBI single to left-center field Friday night, capping a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning, as the top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers stunned the Florida State Seminoles 12-11 on opening night in the Men’s College World Series.

Trailing 9-4 after the fourth inning and 11-7 after the seventh, the Volunteers didn’t quit. They scored one run in the eighth and four runs on five hits in the ninth to hand the eighth-seeded Seminoles their first loss in six NCAA tournament games.

In one of the school’s greatest nights in Omaha, Tennessee leadoff man Christian Moore made history with only the second cycle in CWS history. Moore went five for six and scored four runs. He tripled in the first inning, doubled in the second, singled in the fourth, homered in the sixth and doubled again in the ninth.

Sixty eight years have passed since the last time it happened, when Minnesota’s Jerry Kindall hit for the cycle in 1956 against Mississippi.

Oddly, Tennessee trailed most of the night when it produced 18 hits. That was mostly because of Florida State’s potent attack with 13 hits and also because of Tennessee pitching’s nine walks and the defense’s three errors. Through it all, the Vols were able to overcome it as Dreiling had four hits and Blake Burke three.

Controversy emerged in the ninth with with two out and Burke at the plate on a two-strike count. On a check swing, he was deemed to have held up, giving him another opportunity. If the umpire’s decision had gone the other way, the game would have been over and Florida State would have won, 11-9.

Instead, Burke took advantage of the situation, singling up the middle and bringing in two runs to tie the game.

Records

Florida State 47-16
Tennessee 56-12

Coming up

Saturday: Kentucky vs North Carolina State, 1 p.m. Texas A&M vs. Florida, 6 p.m.
Sunday: Virginia vs. Florida State in an elimination game at 1 p.m. Tennessee vs. North Carolina in the winners bracket at 6 p.m.

NCAA Super Regionals: Can the underdog Purple Aces keep it going against the Tennessee Vols?

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Best-of-three NCAA Super Regionals in baseball open today. Here’s a schedule and a quick glance at the matchups:

Today’s games

Evansville (38-24) at No. 1 Tennessee (53-11)

Eye on the underdogs: The Wes Carroll-coached Purple Aces are the lowest-rated team in the Super Regionals. Seeded fourth last weekend at Greenville, N.C., they rolled behind DH Kip Fougerousse and OF Mark Shallenberger. Fougerousse had four HR and seven RBI in the regional. Shallenberger had the game-winning HR in Monday’s 6-5 win over host East Carolina.

That’s a fact: Christian Moore has hit 29 home runs to lead the Vols, who have hit 159 round-trippers as a team. Tennessee entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.

UConn (35-24) at No. 8 Florida St. (45-15)

Eye on the underdogs: The Huskies entered the Norman Regional seeded third among four teams and proceeded to win with defense, winning three of four in the home park of the Oklahoma Sooners. INF Paul Tammaro, INF Bryan Padilla, 1B Maddix Dalena and OF Caleb Shpur all made key plays. UConn played error-free baseball until it committed its first error in the ninth inning of the final game.

That’s a fact: Former Texas basketball coach Tom Penders is the uncle of UConn baseball coach Jim Penders. Tom Penders played in two NCAA tournaments at UConn in the 1960s, including the 1965 College World Series.

Kansas St. (35-24) at No. 12 Virginia (44-15)

Eye on the underdogs: Kansas State finished 15-15 and tied for sixth with Kansas in the Big 12 regular season. The Wildcats followed with a 1-2 showing in the conference tournament. Last weekend, they registered one of the biggest surprises on opening weekend by sweeping all three games at the Fayetteville Regional. As K-State dispatched Louisiana Tech, No. 5 overall seed Arkansas and Southeast Missouri, Kaelen Culpepper emerged as the regional’s MVP.

That’s a fact: Texas Rangers reliever Josh Sborz played at Virginia under Cavaliers coach Brian O’Connor. O’Connor led Virginia to the College World Series title in 2015.

West Virginia (36-22) at No. 4 North Carolina (45-14)

Eye on the underdogs: Inconspicuous as a No. 3 seed at the Tucson Regional, the Mountaineers followed strong starting pitching to three straight victories. Derek Clark went the distance on opening day against Dallas Baptist and Tyler Switalski followed the next day by working into the eighth inning against Grand Canyon (Ariz). Sophomore Logan Sauve and junior JJ Wetherholt had three hits apiece in a clinching victory over Grand Canyon in the title round.

That’s a fact: The Mountaineers are making their first appearance in the Super Regional opposite the powerful Tar Heels, who are 35-3 at home this season. Heels outfielders Vance Honeycutt and Casey Cook are regarded as two of the top players in the conference.

Friday’s games

No. 15 Oregon St. (45-14) at No. 2 Kentucky (43-14)

No. 10 NC State (36-20) at No. 7 Georgia (42-15)

Florida (32-28) at No. 6 Clemson (44-14)

Oregon (40-18) at No. 3 Texas A&M (47-13)