News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
OMAHA – The No. 3 Texas A&M baseball team will play a Monday winner-take-all game for the national championship following Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in College World Series action at Charles Schwab Field.
The Aggies led for the first six innings, but were unable to add insurance runs, stranding six men on base and succumbing to a pair of pickoffs.
Texas A&M (53-14) drew first blood in the home half of the first. With one out, Jace LaViolette launched a 1-2 offering over the bullpen in right field for a solo home run.
Aggie pitchers weaved through traffic successfully for the first six innings. Tennessee left the bases loaded in both the second and fourth and stranded eight runners in the first four frames.
The Volunteers got two runners on base with one out in the top of the sixth, but Kaiden Wilson induced an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play by Cal Stark.
Tennessee (59-13) claimed its first lead of the finals in the seventh inning. Christian Moore worked a seven-pitch walk and scored when Dylan Dreiling hit a two-run home run to right field, putting the Vols in front, 2-1.
The Volunteers added another two-run homer in the eighth with Stark knocking in Dean Curley for the 4-1 advantage.
Wilson (0-2) was saddled with the loss, yielding four runs on three hits and one walk while striking out two in 2.1 innings.
Inside the Box Score
- Sorrell batted 2-for-4 for his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
- LaViolette reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with one run, one home run and two walks.
- Chris Cortez worked 4.1 innings, scattering two hits and five walks while striking out seven.
- Zane Badmaev worked 1.0 inning plus one hitter, allowing no runs on two hits while striking out two in the start.
- Weston Moss finished off the game for Texas A&M, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth, including one strikeout.
Game Notes
- Under head coach Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M is now 18-5 in postseason play and 6-3 in College World Series games.
- LaViolette stretched his school-record season walk total to 64.
- LaViolette has now reached base safely in 25 straight games, the longest stretch of his career.
- With 12 strikeouts in the game, Aggie pitchers reached the 700-mark for the first time in school annals, ending the game with 709.
- The Aggies dropped to 12-11 all-time against Tennessee.
Up Next
Monday’s winner-take-all game three of the College World Series Finals is slated for 6 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field.