The Tennessee Volunteers are, once again, just one game away from heading back to Omaha. The Vols defeated the Evansville Purple Aces on Friday afternoon 11-6 to put themselves on the cusp of making the College World Series for the third time in the last four seasons. A.J. Causey earned the win, allowing 3 unearned runs over 4.2 innings out of the bullpen with 8 strikeouts to 2 walks.
Tennessee took the lead in the first on a Blake Burke home run to right field. However, Evansville answered quickly in the top of the second when Cal McGinnis clubbed a two-run shot over the wall in center for a 2-1 lead.
Christian Moore answered back for the Vols in the bottom of the third inning, sending a fastball over the wall in right field past the scoreboard to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead. Billy Amick hit an absolute missile out of the stadium later that inning for a 4-2 lead, as the ball cleared all three levels of the party deck out in left field.
Evansville fought back to tie the game at 5 in the top of the fifth. Two of their three runs came on a double by Kip Fougerousse that missed going over the wall by inches.
Tennessee didn’t waste any time reclaiming the lead, which they did for good when Burke smashed a ball to center that just missed going out. Instead, it banged off the wall, then off of the Purple Aces’ center fielder, who was shaken up afterwards. Tennessee would swell the lead to 8-5 later that same inning after a couple of singles and a throwing error.
The coup de grace came in the bottom of the seventh. With two on base, Hunter Ensley took a breaking ball over the left field wall, and it was all she wrote at 11-5. Kirby Connell put up zeroes in the seventh and eighth innings.
However, things got a little bit hairy in the ninth. After back-to-back-to-back hits drove in a run, Connell got the hook in favor of Aaron Combs. After a walk to load the bases, Combs proceeded to strike out the next three batters to end the game.
Game two is set to begin Saturday at 11:00 am ET.