*SCROLL DOWN FOR AT-BAT LIVE ON THE AT-BAT FEED*
Score: Vols 4, 49ers 2 | B6
Tennessee Baseball (40-19) will face Charlotte (36-27) in Clemson on Sunday night for the NCAA Clemson Regional Final.
The game is double elimination for Tennessee and single elimination for Charlotte. So if the Vols are victorious, they advance to the NCAA Super Regional. If Charlotte wins, the two teams will play again on Monday at 1 pm ET in an elimination game.
The first pitch is at 6 pm ET at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. ESPN+ has the transmission, NO SECN+. Therefore, to watch the game, one must have an ESPN+ subscription.
How Tennessee got here:
The Vols have gone 2-0 in the Clemson regional thus far, having beaten Charlotte 8-1 on Friday night before beating host team Clemson 6-5 in a thrilling 14-inning game on Saturday.
The Tigers were eliminated by Charlotte on Sunday afternoon, losing 3-2.
How Charlotte got here:
After Charlotte lost its regional opener to Tennessee on Friday, the 49ers have gone 2-0 since. Charlotte beat Lipscomb 9-2 in Saturday’s early game and beat Clemson 3-2 on Sunday. Therefore, Charlotte’s next fight with the Vols will be their second game of the day.
More from RTI: Top five critical moments in Tennessee’s win over Clemson
What is at stake:
With a win, Tennessee will advance to its third straight NCAA Super Regional. Also, the Vols are in a good position to potentially host the super regional. Clemson’s corresponding region is the Auburn region, and the Tigers have been eliminated. If Southern Miss wins the regional, the committee will have to make a decision on whether Knoxville or Hattiesburg will host the super regional, but Knoxville likely has an advantage.
For all of RTI’s coverage of Tennessee baseball at Clemson Regional, click here.
Lineups, pitching matchup and additional pregame notes are below.
starting lineups
TENNESSEE HOME NINE:
SS Maui Huna
CF Hunter Ensley
L.F. Jared Dickey
DH Griffin Merritt
2B christian moore
1B Blake Burke
3B Zane Denton
RF Christian Scott
Cal Stark
Lineup Notes:
–The same lineup Tennessee has used all weekend.
CHARLOTTE START NINE:
L.F. Blake Jackson
SS Jack Dragum
RF Camera Angler
CF Jake Cunningham
3B Brandon Stahlmann
2B Austin Knight
C. Kaden Hopson
dh butcher
1B Spencer Nolan
Lineup Notes:
–The same headlines they had Friday night against Tennessee. The only difference is that Knight and Butcher have since swapped places in the order.
Launcher Matchup
Vols So. RHP Drew Beam (7-4, 4.19 ERA, 14 app., 14 starts, 1 CG, 66.2 IP, 71 H, 45 R, 31 ER, 20 BB, 62 K, .272 opp. batting average, 1.37 WHIP)
against
49ers Jr. LHP Andrew Spolyar (2-2, 5.59 ERA, 17 app., 1 start, 37.0 IP, 29 H, 23 R, 23 ER, 15 BB, 41 K, .273 opp. batting average, 1.46 WHIP)
uniforms
Tennessee: Dark Mode (3rd time in a row)
Charlotte: Green on Gray
*Tennessee is the home team*
GAME THREAD
1st entry:
T1
-Blake Jackson strikes out looking.
-Jack Dragum singles to right field over the head of Christian Moore.
-Drew Beam hits Cam Fisher looking.
-Jake Cunningham strikes out throwing him.
End of upper half.
B1
-Maui Ahuna strikes out throwing him.
-Hunter Ensley is HBP. Vols has its first base runner.
-Jared Dickey strikes out batting.
-Griffin Merritt reaches on a fielder’s pick when Ensley is out at second 6-4.
End of lower half.
Scoring: Vols 0, 49ers 0
2nd entry:
T2
-Brandon Stahlman rolled SS down the middle. Nice play by Maui, who has been making very solid defensive plays of late.
-Austin Knight fouled out to 1B right next to the Tennessee dugout.
-Kaden Hopson strikes out looking. Do up to four Ks.
End of upper half.
B2
-Christian Moore whips a first solo home run to left center field.
-Blake Burke flies to LF.
-Zane Denton lands at 3B.
-Christian Scott strikes out throwing him.
End of lower half.
Score: Vols 1, 49ers 0
3rd Entry:
T3
-Will Butcher moves up to 1B.
-Spencer Nolan strikes out batting.
-Blake Jackson is hit by a pitch.
-Jack Dragum lands on 3B.
End of upper half.
B3
-Cal Stark strikes out batting.
-Maui Ahuna grounded to 1B without assist.
-Hunter Ensley goes to SS. Good catch from the first baseman since the throw was not good.
End of lower half.
Score: Vols 1, 49ers 0
4th entry:
T4
-Cam Fisher lands in a helicopter down the middle at SS.
-Jake Cunningham strikes out throwing him.
-Brandon Stahlman strikes out looking. Do up to 7 Ks through four 👀
End of upper half.
B4
-Jared Dickey arrives on a fielding error by 1B. Forceful shot that the first baseman could not corner.
-Griffin Merritt hits a double to deep left field down the line. Just fair. Dickey advances to third.
-Christian Moore connects for a hard blow bag fly to center field. Dickey’s Marks. Merritt advances to third.
-Blake Burke does the same. smells like bag fly to deep center to score Merritt.
-Zane Denton punishes a solo home run from the batter’s eye. I smoked it. 419 foot bomb.
-Christian Scott flies to SS in shallow LF.
End of lower half.
Score: Vols 4, 49ers 0
5th inning:
T5
-Austin Knight smokes a first home run to LF to get a run back for Charlotte.
-Kaden Hopson goes to SS.
-Will Butcher strikes out swinging, out ca 1b.
*Eli Weisner as pop-up by Spencer Nolan*
-Weisner strikes out throwing him.
End of upper half.
B5
*Weisner to 1B for Nolan*
*Pitcher swap: RHP Hale Sims (2-0, 3.65 ERA) to pitch for Spolyar*
-Cal Stark strikes out batting.
-Maui Ahuna strikes out looking.
-Hunter Ensley lands at 3B.
End of lower half.
Score: Vols 4, 49ers 1
6th inning:
T6
-Blake Jackson singles to the left side.
-Jack Dragum flies to CF. Jackson advances to second.
-Cam Fisher connects for a double run batted in by the RF line.
-Jake Cunningham strikes out throwing him. Drew Beam has tied his career high for strikeouts with 10. He struck out 10 batters against Vanderbilt this season and Alabama last season.
-Brandon Stahlman lines up to Hunter Ensley. Nice dive catch from Ensley.
End of upper half.
B6
Score: Vols 4, 49ers 2
7th Inning:
T7
B7
Score: Vols, 49ers
8th inning:
T8
B8
Score: Vols, 49ers
ninth inning:
T9
B9
FINAL: Tennessee Vols __, Charlotte 49ers __
