TENNESSEE VOLS WIN THE 2024 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

There has been a curse on the No. 1 overall seed heading into the College World Series for the last 25 years. The last time a team had won it all while being the top seed was in 1999 when Miami beat Florida State. That all changed Monday night when Tennessee won the College World Series for the first time in program history, all while being the No.1 overall seed. 

The Vols looked every part of being the top seed for the majority of the year. They finish the year with a record of 60-13, going 22-8 in conference play and having five guys hit 20 or more homers. They also had the player who had the best season in the SEC this year. Did he win SEC Player of the Year? No. Did he win the Golden Spikes Award? No. His name is Christian Moore and he won the Triple Crown in the SEC. That pretty much sums it up. He finished with a .429 AVG, 20 HRs, and 41 RBIs to lead all of the SEC. Just an unbelievable year from the Suffield Academy kid. 

Game one of the CWS Finals started with a leadoff home run from Gavin Grahovac and the Aggies never looked back. The Vols found themselves down 9-2 after the top of the 7th and stuck in a very tough situation to come back and make it a game. They did go on to score 3 in the bottom half but it was too little too late. Aggies would win Game 1 by a score of 9-5.

Facing elimination, the Vols found themselves down once again after another 1st inning home run from the Aggies, this time by Jace LaViolette. This would be the only run Vols starter, Drew Beam would allow on the day. Beam went on to strike out 5 straight batters after that home run. He finished with 4IP, 7K, 1ER, and 2BB. Exactly what the Vols were looking for in an elimination game from their guy. Still down 1-0 in the 7th, Dylan Dreiling launches a 2 run home run over the bullpen to put the Vols ahead for the first time in the series. In the top of the 8th, Cal Stark decides to hit his own 2 run bomb to extend the lead further. The Vols would avoid elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday after a 4-1 win.

Game 3, for all the marbles. Real feel on the field at first pitch is 106 degrees. Vols are wearing their black uniforms, Aggies in their all grays. It all came down to this one game. The Vols took a commanding 6-1 lead into the 8th inning after another Dylan Dreiling 2 run home run in the 7th inning.

~Fun fact: Dylan Dreiling hit a 2 run HR in the 7th inning of all 3 games during the finals.~

After Texas A&M scored 2 in the 8th, we headed to the 9th in a 6-3 ball game. Vols were 3 outs from history. Aggies needed a rally. A rally they got. After a leadoff double and an RBI single cut the lead to 2, a steal, balk and a passed ball brought the Aggies within 1 in the 9th. This would be the end of the Aggies fight. Vols closer Aaron Combs would strike out Ted Burton to end the game and give Tennessee their first ever National Championship!

The Vols make history becoming the only SEC team to ever win 60 games in a season. They also bring the first National Championship to the University of Tennessee and become the first overall seed to win it all since 1999. Tony Vitello had these boys ready this year.

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-DOGPILE SZN