Last Minute Call For Beam-Burns Combo Works Wonders in Vols Semifinals Win Over Kentucky

HOOVER, Ala. -- Tony Vitello pondered over who he was going to start on the mound in Tennessee's semifinal matchup against Kentucky half an hour before first pitch.

Fifteen minutes later, Vitello made the decision to start Drew Beam on the mound and bring Chase Burns out of the bullpen first, writing his plans on an index card.

"I wrote on an index card, and it never works out this way, Beam four, Burns four, and Todd Helton junior down there for one," Vitello said regarding how he made the decision to start Beam and use Burns in relief.

"About 15 minutes before first pitch," Burns said of when Vitello told him the pitching plans. "Just try to be as adaptable as I can.

As Vitello said, almost never does anything go to plan, but his last minute decision worked wonders for Tennessee in their 12-2 win over the Wildcats.

Beam threw 3.1 innings on the mound Saturday, and while the freshman was far from having his best command, he kept Kentucky scoreless through his innings of work, stranding four Wildcat baserunners in the process.

"I thought Beam's performance was awesome," Vitello said after the game. "In my opinion, the best thing that we did tonight was come out and keep him under wraps for the first couple innings. When you get in that mode where you are just playing ball, that's when you can play your best as a position guy, and that's what they were doing. And on top of that, they have a lot of talent in the lineup. But for him to take control of the game and keep some zeroes on the board to start was massive."

It was especially 'massive' for Beam to keep zeroes on the board for Kentucky as Tennessee's bats struggled to get going in Hoover Met, posting only two runs while Beam was pitching.

Beam's day was done in the bottom of the fourth after Ryan Ritter had cracked a leadoff double and moved his way to third on a groundout from Oraj Anu. Burns galloped across left field from the visiting Tennessee bullpen to take mound with one out and a runner on third, and the freshman was excellent in his first relief inning of the game.

Burns struck out a pair of Kentucky bats around a two-out walk to strand runners on the corners, meaning Kentucky had now left six players on base through four frames.

When looking back on the decision to bring Burns in in that particular moment, Vitello said he was looking for strikeouts. And Burns delivered.

"As far as going to Burns in that particular situation, with our strikeout options, Burns is more apt to strike somebody out than anyone else, and we had a runner at third base," Vitello shared. "All along, both those guys needed to throw while we're here. They threw, and at the same time we didn't gas anybody out for what we got going on next weekend."

From there on, Burns would run into a little trouble in the fifth inning and give up a pair of runs, but the Gallatin, Tennessee, native soon regained his control and never looked back. The freshman retired nine of ten batters faced in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, working his way to eight total strikeouts, throwing strikes on 44 of 63 pitches.

While Burns kept Kentucky's bats well at bay as the game progressed, the Vols' offense soon found their rhythm. Tennessee's top-ranked SEC offense exploded for ten runs in the final two innings to take a 12-2 lead before all was said and done on late Saturday night/early Sunday morning.

And Burns was a significant reason for Tennessee's success at the plate.

"[Burns rebound after the fifth inning] relaxed our hitters, and they were able to do what they did. He took ownership of the game," Vitello said of Burns. "And he was killing me over there. We were going to Wyatt, and he wanted to go back out there in the ninth. It was just a really long sit. Obviously he was throwing the ball well, but maybe that means 12 or 15 more pitches out of him next weekend. But the bottom line is, he made sure we were in a good spot in the beginning, then he took ownership of the game. He really did."

As Vitello mentioned, Wyatt Evans was the one who got the ball to close it out in the ninth inning after the Vols had taken a sizeable lead. But make no mistake about it, Burns took ownership of the game and relaxed Tennessee's hitters, paving the way for the offensive eruption that allowed the Vols to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship against Florida.

First pitch for the final game in Hoover is set for 2 p.m. CT in Hoover Metropolitan Stadium between the Gators and the Vols. ESPN2 has the broadcast.