
Mission accomplished.
It was win or go home in Knoxville on Monday night, and Tony Vitello’s group had no intention of seeing their season end this early. Tennessee handled Wake Forest, battling back from an early deficit to down the Demon Deacons at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Much was made about who Tennessee would start on the mound with everything on the line. Vitello opted to go with AJ Russell, who was coming off of a 50+ pitch performance on Saturday afternoon. Vitello likely wanted a few innings out of Russell, but he wouldn’t quite get that.
Wake struck first with a two-run shot to chase Russell out of the game early. Catcher Matt Conte went oppo off of Russell to give the Demon Deacons an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second.
Tennessee would finally find the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. A walk and hit batsman gave Manny Marin a shot, who laid down a perfect bunt to load the bases. Gavin Kilen would end up grounding into the double play to score one. Andrew Fischer would strike out to end the inning, but the Vols at least cut the lead in half.
Brayden Krenzel would take over on the mound for Russell and give Tennessee some much needed quiet innings. The offense rewarded his efforts in the bottom of the fourth.
Another walk and a wild pitch set the table for Reese Chapman, who check swing-bunted his way to an RBI. The ball was placed perfectly in the infield to score Hunter Ensley and place runners at the corners with one man out. Wake would call upon Duncan Marsten, a freshman, to take over on the mound. A wild pitch would immediately score Dean Curley to give Tennessee their first lead. Marsten would hit Levi Clark shortly after.
Manny Marin left the yard to blow this one open.
MANNY BEING MANNY!
https://t.co/di1WkY9qgP (ESPN2)#GBO // #OTH // #BeatWF pic.twitter.com/CP5ZNAmEz4
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 2, 2025
Andrew Fischer, fresh off of firing up the crowd at Lindsey Nelson, launched another. It was a two-run shot to take an 8-2 lead.
Fisch with his 24th blast of the year and that’s a SEVEN SPOT in the fourth for the BIG ORANGE BOMBERS!
https://t.co/di1WkY9Y6n (ESPN2)#GBO // #OTH // #BeatWF pic.twitter.com/XQ5PQchEhE
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 2, 2025
Wake Forest would get two back on a homerun of their own to chase Krenzel in the top of the fifth. Dylan Loy was the next man up for Vitello, who quickly worked his way out of the inning.
Dalton Wentz came up with a double in the top of the sixth for Wake, then stole third. Austin Hawke would drive him home to cut Tennessee’s lead back down to 8-5. Tanner Franklin would work his way out of the inning with a couple of punch outs to maintain the three-run advantage.
Tennessee ace Liam Doyle entered the game in the top of the seventh with two outs. He quickly got the strikeout to take us to the bottom of the seventh.
Once again it was Andrew Fischer and Hunter Ensley getting something going. A walk and a single had runners on the corners with Tennessee looking for some insurance. Dean Curley provided it with a poke to center. Two runs would score to make it a 10-5 lead, and the Volunteers were suddenly on cruise control on their way to yet another Super Regional.
Doyle took to the mound once again in the eighth, and this appeared to be his game for the rest of the way. Liam was jacked up on the mound, notching two punch outs on the frame to take Wake down to three more outs. Doyle continued throwing straight gas in the ninth, striking out two more on his way to send Tennessee forward.
Doyle ended up throwing 31 pitches on the night. File that away for a decision to be made in the weekend rotation.
Final score: Tennessee 11, Wake Forest 5
Marin finished the night 3-3 with three RBIs. Fischer and Curley each added two RBIs.
Tennessee moves on to the supers to face No. 3 national seed Arkansas. The Volunteers dropped two of three in Fayetteville a couple of weeks back to close the regular season.
It’s Tennessee’s fifth straight appearance in the Super Regionals.