Tennessee disposed of upstart Evansville in the middle innings on Friday and moved within one win of a third appearance in the Men's College World Series in four years.
But fellow Atlantic Coast Conference members North Carolina, Virginia and Florida State had the most telling performances on the first day of the NCAA super regionals.
Vance Honeycutt sent a high fly ball over the left-field fence for a two-run homer after Luke Stevenson hit to tie the score, and the No. 4 national seed Tar Heels upset West Virginia 8-6 for another dramatic postseason victory. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Henry Godbout hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh and No. 12 Virginia beat Kansas State 7-4 for its 23rd come-from-behind victory.
The No. 8 Seminoles set records for most runs and largest margin of victory in the 25-year history of the super regionals in their 24-4 victory over UConn at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Five of FSU's 18 hits were home runs and six UConn pitchers combined for 15 walks.
“We had a race,” Huskies coach Jim Penders said before announcing the lopsided final result. “I thought we were at Doak Campbell [Stadium next door] Because it seemed like a football result, but that doesn't matter for tomorrow.”
The Volunteers looked like part of a No. 1 national seed, launching four more home runs and getting another solid performance from AJ Causey after starter Chris Stamos was pulled early for the second straight game in an 11-6 win over Evansville.
The winners of the best-of-three series will advance to the MCWS in Omaha, Nebraska, beginning next Friday.
Since the NCAA Tournament moved to its current format in 1999, the winner of a super regional opener advanced to the MCWS 78% of the time (148 of 190).
Derek Clark, the 5-foot-9 left-handed dynamo from West Virginia, was on the cusp of his fifth complete game when Stevenson launched his first pitch of the ninth out to immediate center. Honeycutt ended the game when he hit Aidan Major for his 25th home run of the season.
The Tar Heels have had a knack for achieving fantastic results as they compete for their 12th MCWS, and first under Scott Forbes. They scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth to defeat LIU in their regional opener and then scored the tying run in the ninth and the winning run in the 10th to defeat LSU in the finale.
Virginia, like Tennessee, is aiming for a third MCWS in four years. The Cavaliers had runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but were unable to drive in a run against K-State starter Owen Boerema until a walk and an error in the fifth led to two runs. . Griff O'Ferrall's two-run double tied the score in the sixth before Godbout hit his ninth home run of the season.
The Seminoles, who missed the NCAA Tournament last year, are trying to make a 24th appearance in the MCWS and their first since all-time NCAA leader Mike Martin's last team came to Omaha in 2019.
They scored the most runs in an NCAA tournament since a 37-6 drubbing of Ohio State in the 2009 regionals.
Link Jarrett's 2021 Notre Dame team beat Penders and UConn 26-3 in the regionals, and FSU's second-year coach was quick to remind reporters that the score will be zero-zero to start Saturday's game.
“So we have to go deliver the goods,” he said.
Evansville trailed 5-2 early against the Vols, but scored three times in the top of the fifth to tie the score. Tennessee turned a walk, a single, a double and an error into three runs in the bottom half to take the lead for good.
“It's hard to get punched in the stomach or in the mouth,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said. “We probably brag too much about our league, not just us but all the people in the SEC like to do that, but you get used to getting hit. Gut, jaw, whatever you want to call it. You have to be able to respond. “In this group, what makes the difference is how they stay calm or try to hit back in situations where the other team hurts us.”
The Vols' four home runs increased their nationally leading total to a school record 163.
Chris Stamos, who faced just three batters before getting the hook in the regional opener against Northern Kentucky, exited after six batters on Friday. He allowed a home run and a double before Causey came in and struck out eight in 4⅓ innings. All three runs against Causey were unearned.
Evansville knows it's playing with house money as a regional No. 4 seed and first-time supers, so the Purple Aces don't expect to feel much pressure on Saturday.
“The way this team plays, we always say we want to play loose, have a lot of fun and let it fly,” second baseman Cal McGinnis said. “That's going to ring true tomorrow.”
“We had a regatta. I thought we were at Doak Campbell (the stadium next door) because it looked like a football scoreboard, but that doesn't matter for tomorrow.”
Jim Penders, University of Connecticut baseball coach
MOMENT OF FEAR
Evansville center fielder Ty Rumsey left after being injured trying to catch Blake Burke's drive off the wall in the fifth inning.
The ball bounced off the wall and hit Rumsey in the face, causing him to bleed near his right eye. He received medical attention on the field and remained inside to finish the inning. Brodie Peart pinch-hit for Rumsey in the sixth.
ESPN reported that Rumsey injured his right shoulder on the play and that was the main concern heading into Saturday's game. Coach Wes Carroll said he didn't know if Rumsey would play.
North Carolina ruined what looked to be a special night for Clark, who spent his first three years of college at Division II Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. Clark threw more than 120 pitches for the fifth time this season, finishing with 144. His 18th home run of the season and a double in his first two trips to the plate. …Florida State scored at least 24 runs for the fifth time in an NCAA Tournament game and it was the Seminoles' highest total in any game since a 24-4 win over Niagara in 2020.
