KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– In game one of the Super Regionals, the Vols weren't themselves. Notre Dame beat Tennessee at their own game for four innings, and UT couldn't complete the comeback.
With the season on the line, the elite level of play we've seen all season from the BaseVols returned to the diamond, as Tennessee downed the Fighting Irish 12-4 to force the Sunday rubber match.
Tennessee gave the ball to SEC Pitcher of the Year Chase Dollander for the start on Saturday, and the sophomore was fantastic through seven innings. Dollander allowed a mere two runs and five hits in seven innings to a team that had scored eight in the first four frames a night prior.
At the plate, an eight-run explosion by the Big Orange in the fifth-inning, in which two Vols became the program leaders in home runs, highlighted the Volunteers' 12-run performance.
With the season on the line, the Vols came through significantly with a team effort at the plate and an elite Chase Dollander start.
“I think it was important," Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said on Dollander's start. "Because if you win today, you’re gonna have to play another game and you’re going to have an all hands on deck situation. At this point in the year, everybody’s gotta be willing to do anything at anytime. [Dollander's outing] set the table better for us to finish the game, and it put us in a better position tomorrow. It did a lot. It did more than one thing for us with the way he threw the ball.”
Here's more on how the top-ranked Vols kept their season alive.
Lipscomb RBI Double Gives UT Early Lead, Chase Dollander Starts Sharp
Tennessee leadoff man and starting center-fielder (due to Gilbert's suspension) kicked things off in Knoxville with a single on his second pitch. The Vols were the road team and hit first because they had been the away team less than Notre Dame in the Super Regionals.
Stephenson came home three batters later when clean-up hitter and senior third baseman Trey Lipscomb ripped an RBI double up the middle to score the center-fielder from first.
Lipscomb was stranded at second, but Tennessee already did what they needed: start fast and build momentum early.
Tennessee sophomore right-hander and SEC Pitcher of the Year Chase Dollander set foot on the mound first for the Volunteers on Saturday, logging his 14th start of the year and third in the postseason.
Looking to rebound after a poor outing in the NCAA Regionals last weekend, Dollander started sharp in Lindsey Nelson Stadium, setting down the Irish in order in the first by getting a pair to strike out looking and leadoff man Ryan Cole to fly out.
Jared Dickey, who made his first start since re-injuring his foot in the Florida series, gave Tennessee back-to-back innings with a leadoff single by sending one up the middle. But the freshman utility man wasn't on base long, as freshman designated hitter Christian Moore grounded into a 6-4-3 double play before senior first baseman Luc Lipcius went down swinging to end the top of the frame. Dickey started for the Vols in left-field due to Gilbert's suspension, taking over Stephenson's role while Stephenson took Gilbert's role in the outfield.
Notre Dame threatened for the first time on Saturday after left-fielder Jack Zyska led off in the second with a single and later stole second, but Dollander retired the side to end the threat and stay sharp through two innings.
Tennessee had a runner in scoring position in the top of the third after Seth Stephenson worked a one-out walk and stole second with two outs, but Jordan beck hit a soft grounder in the 5-6 gap where Stephenson was tagged out. Stephenson's decision to head to third didn't pan out, as the JUCO product was tagged out on a non-force play, and it would've been a tough throw to make for the Irish's third baseman Jack Brannigan to get Beck out at first.
Dollander continued to deal in the bottom of third, sitting down the Irish in order on only six pitches. Dollander's pitch count through three innings rested at a healthy 39, while Notre Dame's John Bertrand had reached 48 total pitches through three.
“I felt like I kinda had a chip on my shoulder after that last outing," Dollander said on what went on to be an excellent start. "I came out with more determination, and I was able to use all four pitches which is really good.”
The defensive struggle continued in the fourth for both sides, as Bertrand retired the side in the top of the inning around a two-out Jared Dickey walk, and Dollander retired the side in the bottom around a two-out Jack Zyska single.
The pitching battle was living up the hype through four innings, as neither side could find a true groove at the plate.
Vols Blow It Open With 8-Run Fifth Inning
Tennessee Baseball did what Tennessee Baseball has done all year against Notre Dame in the fifth inning: hit dingers.
Tennessee's eight-run mammoth inning that saw 12 Volunteer at-bats began with a leadoff home run off the batter's eye from Luc Lipcius. Lipcius' homer tied Todd Helton and Evan Russell's program record of 38 career home runs.
But Lipcius wasn't tied for the program lead long. But we'll get to that in a minute.
Cortland Lawson followed Lipcius' homer with a double to left-field before moving to third on a Seth Stephenson bunt single.
Tennessee had a golden opportunity to blow it open with runners on the corners and no outs, and they did just that. Jordan Beck, a.k.a. Mike Honcho, continued his recent hot streak by crushing a moonshot to the left-field porches in Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a three-run bomb.
The biggest play at the plate for Tennessee in the Super Regional was met by a deafening roar in Lindsey Nelson Stadium as the star junior outfielder gave his team a 5-0 lead.
“It was a really cool moment. The [Jordan] Beck homer got us really jittery and excited. It’s cool when you know you have an offense who can put on that many runs in one inning, and it seems it just happens like that. And everyone in the dugout has your back and wants you to do well. It’s a party in that dugout."
Evan Russell became the sole program home run leader by hitting a two-out solo shot to left-field two at-bats later, becoming Tennessee Baseball's Home Run King.
But, like Lipcius didn't share the record for long, Russell didn't hold the record by himself long.
Three at-bats later, Lipcius delivered a three-run homer to score himself, pinch-runner Christian Scott and Christian Moore to give the Vols a staggering 9-0 lead and tie Russell for the program home run record.
Lipcius' homer was his second of the inning, becoming the first Volunteer to hit two home runs in the same inning since Kelly Edmundson did so in 2006.
Notre Dame had made two pitching changes in the inning, but it didn't matter; the Vols were not going to be stopped in the fifth.
Lipcius' three-run blast were the final runs for Tennessee in the inning, but the Volunteer offense had done more than enough to take full control of the must-win game.
And as for Dollander, he kept dealing after Tennessee's offense made it easy on him after the fifth.
“It feels great," Dollander said on how it feels to know his team has an offense that is capable of posting eight runs in the fifth inning. "I just kinda go out there and do what I do for the guys. Can’t complain. Watching these guys do what they do is awesome.”
Dollander's Great Outing Continues Through the Seventh, Vols Tack on Three More in the Seventh
Notre Dame got on the scoreboard with a run in the bottom of the fifth courtesy of an RBI groundout from center-fielder Spencer Myers to score pinch-hitter, Danny Neri.
The Irish added another run in the sixth inning with a sac fly from pinch-hitter Jack Penney to score pinch-runner Nick DeMarco. Dollander had given up two runs in the fifth and sixth, but the star sophomore's outing had been terrific in Tennessee's biggest game of 2022.
Tennessee's offense got those runs back and one more in the seventh, posting three more runs to take a 12-2 lead.
Christian Scott–who had taken Jared Dickey's place in the lineup after pinch-running–began the inning with a leadoff single followed by a one-out Luc Lipcius single that gave the Vols runners on the corners with one out.
Cortland Lawson then drove in a run, connecting on a sac fly to right-field to score Scott and move Lipcius to second.
Lipcius didn't stay on second long, as he advanced to third on a passed ball before scoring on a throwing error by Notre Dame third baseman Nick DeMarco that allowed Seth Stephenson to reach first.
The speedy Stephenson was the next Vol to score, coming home on a two-out RBI double from Jorel Ortega.
The SEC Pitcher of the Year retook the mound in the seventh despite having already thrown close to 100 pitches, as Tony Vitello had full confidence Dollander could keep Notre Dame's offense to a minimum.
And it was the right decision.
Dollander delivered his third 1-2-3 inning of the game to continue his masterful outing that was equally as impressive as Tennessee's offensive onslaught in the fifth inning.
Dollander's incredible day was done after his seventh-inning performance, as Mark McLaughlin got the ball to begin the eighth.
“I was able to use all four of my pitches effectively," Dollander said regarding his outing. "Usually the curveball isn’t there but today it was, so I used that to my advantage.”
Below is Dollander's final line from a fantastic start.
7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 77 strikes on 112 TP against 27 batters.
In the top of the seventh, the Vols were sat down in order by the combination of Notre Dame relief pitchers in right-handed Radek Birkholz and lefty Matt Lazzaro.
Vols Coast to the Emphatic Win
McLaughlin wasn't his best in the eighth, giving up two runs to Notre Dame thanks to Jack Zyska's two-run bomb. But the junior reliever worked his way around it from there and preserved a Tennessee eight-run lead heading into the final inning.
In the ninth, Tennessee didn't do much at the plate, but McLaughlin retired side around a one-out walk to finish off Notre Dame.
With the win, the top-ranked BaseVols improve to 57-8 while Notre Dame drops to 39-15. The Vols won by playing Tennessee Baseball in the most significant game of the year, and they did it without their spark plug. Their leader in batting average. Their clean-up hitter and star defender. Drew Gilbert.
“It’s tough when you don’t have your spark plug in the lineup," Lipcius said after the game. "But we knew he was rooting from wherever he was and had our back. We just want to see him play again, and I think he’s gonna come out with a lot of energy and the crowd is going to go absolutely berserk when he gets that first at-bat. It’s gonna be fun, and we do it for him”
Drew Gilbert and Tennessee will return to their home park on Sunday to face off against Notre Dame with a College World Series berth on the line.
First pitch will be at 1:00 p.m. ET in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. ESPN will once again have the broadcast.