Tennessee baseball is back in the NCAA Tournament for a seventh straight time as they head east for the Chapel Hill Regional. The Vols are the two-seed in the regional and will face off against East Carolina in their NCAA Tournament opener.
Between the meeting with East Carolina and a potential matchup against regional host North Carolina, the Vols could see two teams that they have postseason history with.
Back in 2001, Tennessee traveled to Kinston, North Carolina to face off against East Carolina with a birth in the College World Series on the line. Tennessee out-slugged the Pirates to a 13-10 game one victory. Then the next day, the Vols defeated East Carolina 6-3 to punch their ticket to Omaha.
It marked Tennessee’s third ever trip to the College World Series and its second of three trips under head coach Rod Delmonico.
Tennessee has a connection to the current East Carolina team. Left-handed pitcher Luke Payne transferred from Tennessee to East Carolina last offseason and posted a 5.10 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 30 innings pitched this season.
The Vols postseason history with North Carolina is more recent. Tennessee first made the NCAA Tournament under Tony Vitello back in 2019, landing in the Chapel Hill Regional. Tennessee dropped its opener to Liberty before climbing out of the loser’s bracket with three straight victories.
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North Carolina ended Tennessee’s season in the regional final, scoring four first inning runs and holding on for a 5-2 victory.
Tennessee got a bit of revenge half a decade later in the 2024 College World Series. The Vols faced North Carolina in their second game in Omaha, earning a 6-1 victory to move a win away from their second ever appearances in the College World Series final series.
Kavares Tears had a specular day, hitting a home run and a RBI double while Reese Chapman also hit a home run in the Father’s Day win. But the most notable moment from the game was Hunter Ensley’s spectacular catch running into the centerfield wall.
UNREAL CATCH BY HUNTER ENSLEY 😱 pic.twitter.com/8oE3eNNO3V
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 16, 2024
Tennessee is looking to make more happy postseason memories this weekend in Chapel Hill. First pitch between the Vols and Pirates is at noon ET on Friday afternoon. ESPNU is broadcasting the game.
