CLEMSON, Sc (WATE-TV) – Once again facing Charlotte, the Vols shut down the 49ers in convincing fashion, sending Tennessee to their third straight Super Regional.
The 49ers started off the first with a Jack Dragum single, but Drew Beam struck out the next two batters, including the nation’s home-run leader Cam Fisher, to leave him stranded.
The Vols struck first in the second, thanks to a Christian Moore solo shot off the scoreboard. It marked his 16th homer of the year and his third in as many days.
There wasn’t much action through the next couple of innings. Charlotte pitcher Andrew Spolyar kept the Vols off the board with a few groundouts and strikeouts. On the other end, Beam continued his strong start on the mound, as he recorded seven strikeouts through the first three innings.
Tennessee got the offense going in the top of the fourth. With Jared Dickey on first, Griffin Merritt hit a ball perfectly down the left-field line. Dickey then ran home on a Christian Moore sac fly. Merritt followed suit on another sac fly from Blake Burke to make it 3-0.
After hitting two home runs against Clemson, Zane Denton continued his dominant play at the plate and hit his third homer of the regional to give the Vols a 4-0 lead.
Charlotte got on the board in the fifth as former Vol Austin Knight hit a solo shot to cut into Tennessee’s lead.
Christian Moore grabbed his second home run of the night, and fourth of the regional, with a two-run shot off the batter’s eye to give the Vols a 6-2 lead in the sixth.
Camden Sewell replaced Beam on the mound in the seventh. Beam gave up just two runs on four hits, didn’t walk a single batter, and tied his career high in strikeouts with 10.
The Vols added another in the seventh on an RBI fielder’s choice.
They weren’t stopping there, Tennessee tacked on two more in the eighth off a Christian Scott single, putting the 49ers seven runs behind.
Three outs later and the victory was set in stone, Tennessee finishes out their regional run with a 9-2 victory over the 49ers.
UP NEXT: Tennessee advances to their third straight Super Regional appearance, they will face either Penn or Southern Miss.