No. 3 national seed Tennessee (50-16) hosted the Knoxville Super Regional against LSU (38-25) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Vols defeated LSU, 15-6, on Sunday, claiming the best-of-3 series two games to none. With the win, Tennessee advances to the College World Series for the fifth time in program history.
Fourth-year Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello recapped the Vols’ victory on Sunday.
“Heck of a day for Vol Nation today,” Vitello said. “Broncos fans have got to be happy because we got Peyton Manning saying Omaha again, so these guys are as excited as you can imagine. You get an SEC team drawn. You know it’s going be a war, but I think our kids showed up with the right mentality today. They were certainly focused, but they were also relaxed, and I could not be happier that the guy on the mound at the very end was Redmond Walsh. Small in stature, enormous in heart, and it kind of represents what we got going on in our locker room and in our dugout.
“The last thing would just be before I forget, a big thank you to everybody. I mean, ever since we got here, you’ve seen already, this weekend I do a lot of foolish things and kind of get out of control at times, but just wanted to get this thing to where people were proud of it. I think the crowd today alone, but also the following on the street or on TV or via text message for these kids speaks volumes of where it’s at right now. It’s at that spot because the guys have won, but I think it’s been more about the fashion in which they win with some grit, and they play together. For that to show up loud on TV, or very obvious when you’re watching in person, that means it’s truer than true.”
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