Everything was going according to plan for No. 1 Tennessee as the Volunteers led Notre Dame 3-1 heading to the seventh inning. Freshman sensation Chase Burns was cruising through six, allowing just one run but with Carter Putz on base, catcher David Lamanna sent a line drive over the right field wall to even the score and soon after Notre Dame was headed to Omaha.
One batter later third baseman Jack Brannigan launched a no doubter one batter later to chase Burns from the game and take a 4-3 lead.
The Irish then capitalized on a Tennessee error in the eighth inning to start another three-run frame that saw two runs score on a Putz double before he was singled in by Jack Zyska.
Tennessee’s bats were cooled by a trio of Notre Dame pitchers as Liam Simon allowed two runs in 1.2 innings, and Alex Rao allowed just one run in 2.1 frames. Freshman standout Jack Findlay was stellar just two days after throwing 58 pitches, going five innings allowing just one hit, and locking the door on the top-seeded Volunteers.
Notre Dame’s victory comes 20 years after the Irish upset then top-seeded Florida State in Tallahassee to clinch a trip to the College World Series. This will be Notre Dame’s third trip to Omaha all-time, having also done so in 1957.
Notre Dame head coach Link Jarrett went to three College World Series appearances as a player at Florida State and now gets to experience the thrill as a head coach.
Plenty more to come on a thrilling day of college baseball. See the best photos from the upset below!