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Tennessee powers past Texas A&M in Game 2 to force decisive finale in College World Series
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Tennessee defeated Texas A&M 4-1 on Sunday afternoon in Game 2 of the College World Series finals.
Each team has now won a game apiece, which means that this series will go to a decisive Game 3 on Monday night in Omaha. Both programs are looking to secure the first College World Series title in their respective histories.
Tennessee won this game on the back of tremendous pitching performances and a pair of 2-run homers in the late-innings.
Drew Beam got the start and was tremendous after allowing the Aggies to strike first with a run in the first inning. He finished with 7 strikeouts in 4 innings of work as he scattered 3 hits and that lone Texas A&M run. Aaron Combs followed Beam’s performance with 4 scoreless innings of his own.
Offensively, Tennessee had a frustrating day for the first half of this game. The Vols stranded a whopping 9 runners through the first 6 innings before they finally broke through in the 7th with a 2-run blast from Dylan Dreiling to take the lead. Cal Stark provided a couple of insurance runs with a 2-run blast of his own in the 8th.
Here’s video of Stark’s towering home run to left field:
STARK INDUSTRIES
BANG!
https://t.co/dOromFvTCS (ABC)#GBO // #OTH // #MCWS // #BeatTAMU pic.twitter.com/KhmpL1ZBY3
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 23, 2024
Texas A&M had an interesting approach to its pitching staff today. Instead of going to lefty Justin Lamkin, Texas A&M decided to give Zane Badmaev his first start of the year. Badmaev pitched just 1 inning before being lifted for Chris Cortez.
Cortez struggled with his command at times, but ultimately got through 4.1 innings without giving up a run. Tennessee’s offense ultimately broke through against A&M’s Kaiden Wilson, who gave up 4 earned runs in 2.2 innings on the mound.
It seems Texas A&M ultimately opted to save 2 of its best pitchers for Monday’s contest with Lamkin and Evan Aschenbeck not being called upon on Sunday. Aschenbeck is perhaps the best bullpen arm in the country, but threw 46 pitches in Texas A&M’s win over Tennessee on Saturday night. He will now presumably be available for a longer outing if needed on Monday in Game 3.
The final game of the 2024 College World Series is set for 7 p.m. ET on Monday night.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
