Four Quick Takes on a rough loss to the Aggies in the CWS Finals
OMAHA, Neb. — Texas A&M behind a five-run third inning beat Tennessee 9-5 Saturday night in game one of the College World Series Finals from Charles Schwab Field.
The Aggies (53-13) have the opportunity to win the series – and the national championship – on Sunday afternoon with the 2 o’clock eastern time first pitch, but Texas A&M would have to do something only one team has done to the Vols (58-13) all season long – beat them twice in-a-row.
UT surrendered five runs off four hits in the disastrous third inning that allowed the Aggies to take a commanding six-run lead. Tennessee chipped away with RBI singles from Dean Curley (second) and Hunter Ensley (third), and back-to-back home runs from Dyaln Dreiling and Ensley in the seventh, but it was not enough despite the double-digit hits for the Vols in the contest.
Chris Stamos (3-1) is charged with the loss after giving up two runs in only 0.1 of an inning of work. Josh Stewart (2-2) earned the victory on the mound while tossing 2.1 innings of relief, allowing two runs off one hit. Four Vols finished the game with multiple hits on the day, but it was A&M that reached base in all but two innings of the ballgame.
The season is on the line Sunday afternoon for the Tennessee Volunteers as a snap-and-clear mentality is needed for the quick turnaround. Drew Beam is the expected starter as a win is needed to force the ‘if necessary’ Game 3 on Monday for Tennessee to have a chance at the national title.
Here’s Four Quick Takes on the ballgame.
Don’t Call it A Comeback
Tennessee wouldn’t go quietly into the night. That’s not in this team’s DNA. Trailing 9-2 entering the bottom of the seventh, Dylan Dreiling and Hunter Ensley clocked back-to-back home runs to put three on the board and cut the Aggie lead to four runs at 9-5.
Billy Amick walked with one out and Dreiling followed with the two-run smack over the left field wall. It was the 21st long ball of the season for the sophomore and gave some life back into the Tennessee dugout. Following a pitching change, Ensley stepped in and took an 0-1 pitch 385 feet to left for his 12th home run of the season. The back-to-back home runs were hits No. 9 and 10 on the night and the Volunteers were back in this game for the first time since the second inning.
Dylan dials long distance to get two runs back.Pitching change coming for the Aggies. https://t.co/3WxxhYjcwY (ESPN)#GBO // #OTH // #MCWS // #BeatTAMU pic.twitter.com/X04ZLx9eKn— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 23, 2024
The home runs were the third hit of the day for both. Blake Burke and Dean Curley also registered multi-hit days with two apiece. Dreiling later singled in the ninth to go 4-for-5 on the day.
Not an Ideal Start
Same as last Friday night against Florida State, opener Chris Stamos lasted only one-third of an inning before Tony Vitello summoned to the bullpen for sidewinder AJ Causey. Gavin Grahovac led off the game with a solo home run to right and the southpaw gave up a double down the left field line as well.
OPPO TO LEADOFF THE FINALS#GigEm x @GavinGrahovac x #MCWS pic.twitter.com/Lc5jHjrTUk— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 22, 2024
Right before calling for Causey to enter the ballgame, Hayden Schott reached on a tough error called by the official scorer on a ball that was scorched off the mound in comeback fashion and shortstop Dean Curley bobbled the ball on the run before making the throw to first. Nonetheless with runners at the corners and one gone, Causey retired Ted Burton via strikes before Caden Sorrell singled up the middle to plate the unearned run.
Causey struck out Ali Camarillo to end the inning, but the Aggies were able to strike first with a pair for runs (one earned to Stamos) off three hits and one Tennessee error. Not how you’d envision starting off the College World Series Finals if you’re the Vols or Chris Stamos, but it was a long game ahead.
When it Rains, it Pours
Yikes, what a third inning defensively – and not in a good way.
AJ Causey was up quick on Aggie star Jace LaViolette, 1-2 at the plate. Home plate umpire Mike Morris called balls on two really close borderline pitches and Causey ended up walking the leadoff man. That set the wheels in motion for a disastrous inning early in this one as the Aggies would go on to plate five runs off four hits – along with one Tennessee error – to take a commanding six-run lead at 7-1 by inning’s end.
Jackson Appel lined a ball off the pitcher’s mound and it went straight up in the air allowing him to scoot on over to first base for the easy infield single. Designated hitter Hayden Schott followed with a single up the middle that plated LaViolette from second for the second run for the frame. A failed squeeze play from Ted Burton resulted in an out at the plate, but Caden Sorrell’s single through the right side scored another.
Here’s when things went from bad to worse. Ali Camarillo sent a chopper down to third base at Billy Amick. The infielder played the ball on run and quickly threw, not taking the time to get his feet set. Blake Burke didn’t have a chance to scoop the ball that was well in front of him at the first base bag. The error was a costly one as two runs crossed home plate on the blunder.
A final blow came from the bat of eight-hole hitter Kaeden Kent as the two-run single made the score 7-1 in the blink of an eye.
Stay 3⃣#GigEm x #MCWS pic.twitter.com/uzVOFfm2BY— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 23, 2024
Sure, maybe the missed calls from the home plate umpire during the leadoff at-bat contributed some to the downfall of the inning, but Tennessee really hurt Tennessee with sloppy defense and poor pitching overall.
Rocky on the Mound
The sidewinder – AJ Causey -came into a tough situation in the first inning, runners at the corners with one out. He struck out the first batter he faced but an RBI single up the middle padded the early Aggies lead. Another strikeout ended the frame, stranding two more Texas A&M base runners in scoring position. Starter Chris Stamos faced only four batters, allowing a leadoff home run and a double before an exit after one-third of an inning.
He retired the Aggies in order in the second with two more punchouts. Over the first six batters the righty faced since coming out of the bullpen, he struck out four of them. It was a great start.
And that is where it stopped as trouble down poured in the third by way of five runs off four hits to let the game get away at 7-1. To be completely fair, Causey didn’t receive an awful lot of help as the home plate umpire squeezed him at times and the two-base throwing error from Billy Amick resulted in two runs as well.
Overall, Causey was fairly decent outside of the big inning, but the fifth was a momentum killer as the Vols found themselves in a massive hole. The sidewinder’s final line was five runs (four earned) over 3.2 innings pitched with five strikeouts to one walk and six hits. Causey threw 74 pitches in the outing (49 strikes).
Kirby Connell came on to start the fifth for Tennessee and lasted only 0.2 of an inning after giving up three hits. Marcus Phillips was summoned out of the Tennessee bullpen to clean up the mess. He did so by striking out Gavin Grahovac to end the inning with runners at second and third base.
The hard-throwing righty picked up the first out of the sixth inning rather quickly, but walked Jackson Appel next, who then stole second base. That prompted Andrew Behnke in from the barn yard and he struck out the first batter he faced while induced a fly out to right field to strand runners at the corners by inning’s end.
Some really solid work by Behnke and Phillips to strand base runners to end the fifth and sixth innings, however, the southpaw would allow a two-run home run off the bat of Kaeden Kent in the seventh. Dylan Loy came in and tossed a clean, 1-2-3 inning in the eighth and finished things off on the mound for Tennessee in this one with a solid ninth inning as well.
The Aggies were able to post crooked numbers in three frames and tallied double-digit hits on the day. It was a day to forget for Stamos, Causey and Behnke – but the five-run third was the biggest downfall in the contest.
The post Four Quick Takes on a rough loss to the Aggies in the CWS Finals appeared first on On3.
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