Drew Beam (9-2) made his first start for Tennessee (57-12) in the 2024 College World Series on Sunday.
He pitched five innings in the Vols’, 6-1, win against North Carolina (48-15) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska.
Beam recorded seven strikeouts and totaled 73 pitches (53 strikes) against 21 batters.
“Felt really good early on,” Beam said. “Cal (Stark) called a great game behind the plate. We had pretty much everything going. I was just trusting with what he had game planned and we had game planned with and we were going with it.
They put some good swings on balls, especially that ball to center field. (Hunter) Ensley made a really good catch. The defense played well behind me. That helped me out in some situations, and the, I guess, the time break was unfortunate, but it is just what happens. It’s baseball. There’s always something that’s going to happen. I went down to the pen. I got loose and just Vance (Honeycutt) made a really good swing on that pitch. Backed up a cutter and he made a good swing. Then coach made the call and Kirby (Connell) got me out of it. I was happy that the guys behind me had my back.”
PHOTOS: Tennessee baseball defeats North Carolina in College World Series
