Tennessee falls to Notre Dame in Super Regionals, becomes latest No. 1 seed to fail to win national title
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Tennessee entered the NCAA Baseball Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, cruising through the regional round in Knoxville to advance to the Super Regionals, also held in Knoxville.
After losing Game 1 to Notre Dame on Friday, the Vols bounced back with a 12-4 victory on Saturday to force a decisive Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
Early in the game, things seemed to be going the Vols’ way. Seth Stephenson’s double extended Tennessee’s lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the 5th inning:
The Vols extend their lead off the Stephenson double.
? ESPN#RoadToOmaha x @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/GHhT1LJsBQ
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 12, 2022
This bizarre play also helped the Vols keep the Irish in check early:
What a series of events pic.twitter.com/uTxjSydNeG
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 12, 2022
But, the Vols couldn’t get anything else going offensively. Meanwhile, Notre Dame came all the way back to win 7-3 and clinch the second of 8 spots in Omaha for the College World Series.
Now, the Vols become the 22nd No. 1 overall seed in a row to fail to win the College World Series title:
- 2022: Tennessee (lost in Super Regionals)
- 2021: Arkansas (lost in Super Regionals)
- 202o: No tournament (COVID-19)
- 2019: UCLA (lost in Super Regionals)
- 2018: Florida (lost in College World Series)
- 2017: Oregon State (lost in College World Series)
- 2016: Florida (lost in College World Series)
- 2015: UCLA (lost in regional)
- 2014: Oregon State (lost in regional)
- 2013: North Carolina (lost in College World Series)
- 2012: Florida (lost in College World Series)
- 2011: Virginia (lost in College World Series)
- 2010: Arizona State (lost in College World Series)
- 2009: Texas (lost in College World Series)
- 2008: Miami (lost in College World Series)
- 2007: Vanderbilt (lost in regional)
- 2006: Clemson (lost in College World Series)
- 2005: Tulane (lost in College World Series)
- 2004: Texas (lost in College World Series)
- 2003: Florida State (lost in Super Regionals)
- 2002: Florida State (lost in Super Regionals)
- 2001: Cal State Fullerton (lost in College World Series)
- 2000: South Carolina (lost in Super Regionals)
- 1999: Miami (won national title)
The Vols finished the 2022 season with an impressive 57-9 overall record. They also won the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
