‘We don’t intend on letting them down’: Tennessee edges Liberty 3-1 to advance to first Super Regional appearance since 2005
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee senior Sean Hunley stood atop the pitcher's mound on Sunday night, fully in control.
Around him, UT's world appeared to be crumbling. The Vols held a slim 3-1 lead against Liberty, and the Flames had a runner on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The tying run stepped to the plate.
Unfazed, the senior forced a game-ending fly-out to preserve Tennessee’s win in the Knoxville Regional final. The Vols raced out of the dugout in celebration, chest-bumping for a victory that propels Tennessee to its first Super Regional appearance since 2005.
‘Better’ play through ‘Regional of Death’
The win also marks a 3-0 sweep for UT in the Knoxville Regional, which Tony Vitello called the "Regional of Death."
“Our team is incredibly tough,” said Vitello, who won his first Regional as a head coach. “They showed it this weekend.”
To start the gauntlet, Tennessee walked-off Wright State with a Drew Gilbert grand slam. Then the Vols set a new NCAA Tournament home run record with five bombs in 2.2 innings against Liberty on Saturday, and they outlasted the Flames again for the sweep on Sunday night. The Vols never faced a Duke team that Liberty eliminated 15-4 earlier Sunday afternoon.
Vitello added that the sweep is extra special considering Tennessee’s short stint at the Chapel Hill Regional in 2019.
“These kids were dying to get a second go,” he said Sunday.
After making the most of that chance, the Vols will look to continue that effort when they take on the winner from Oregon-LSU in next weekend’s three-game Super Regional. The Ducks and Tigers face off in a winner-take-all game on Monday night. Awaiting the victor of that game is a cross-country trip, as Oregon or LSU will travel to Knoxville.
“Our season is far from over,” said Sunday starter Will Heflin. “I am just really excited for next weekend.”
That excitement bubbles for good reason, as it will be just the Vols’ third Super Regional since the format was introduced in 1999. It will also mark UT’s first time to ever host the pre-College World Series round. Two wins would send Tennessee to Omaha for the fifth time in program history.
Hunley, Heflin prove double trouble
To push their team toward the record books, Hunley and Heflin each induced several vital stops on Sunday.
Hunley finished with five strikeouts and allowed just one hit in 3.2 innings of work, and his finishes in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings left Liberty runners stranded before the ninth-inning nightcap. Hunley’s sixth-inning wrap-up was almost as memorable as the final one, as he worked the go-ahead runner to a full count before tossing a payoff pitch that sent Lindsey Nelson Stadium to its feet.
“(Hunley’s) demeanor is unmatched,” said Heflin. “He’s so composed, even in a tough situation. He has good stuff, pounds the zone. He’s always the guy when we need a win.”
Heflin called Hunley “a huge backbone” of Tennessee’s pitching staff, and Vitello added that Hunley sent four vital words to his coach on Sunday morning: “I want the ball.”
Hunley earned it. But Heflin did, too.
The married Morristown lefty kept the Flames at bay through 5.1 innings, giving up just four hits, one run and an error with eight strikeouts and a walk.
“You can look at everybody on this team, at a moment where they were the hero,” Heflin said. “Getting the ball today, I knew it was going to go well. No doubt about it.”
Heflin’s biggest performance came on his final pitch, as he kept Liberty at one run with a crucial strikeout to end the threat. The Southpaw left the field to a standing ovation, and he punched his fist into his glove in exultation as he walked toward the dugout.
"Those guys are thicker than thieves," Vitello said of Heflin and Hunley. "Neither wants to let the other down."
Two-out hits, homers prove just enough
After Friday night's grand slam and Saturday's home run record, Tennessee's hot bats cooled down to begin Sunday's Regional final.
Still, the hits were timed and placed well enough to prove effective. Jake Rucker got the Vols started with a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the third inning, scoring Max Ferguson after Ferguson had knocked a two-out double of his own.
Drew Gilbert followed suit in the fifth inning, blasting a two-out, two-run shot to right field to give the Vols a 3-0 cushion. After homering in each game this weekend, Gilbert was named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player. His latest bomb on Sunday came after Jordan Beck and Pete Derkay had each gotten on with two-out hits as well.
“Just determination that’s not obstructed in any way, shape, or form,” Vitello said of Gilbert. “When your passion is bleeding into your veins…. It’s put into play.”
Spastic tumbles, electric environments
Vitello’s passion certainly bled over after the win.
The Vols’ coach walked through the stands after the win, high-fiving and thanking a fan base he grew up admiring.
“When I got the job, I grew up watching Pat Summitt and watching Phillip Fulmer’s football team,” he said. “I grew up in St. Louis, but I knew what the Tennessee fan base was about."
This weekend, that same fan base created a wall of noise that prompted a choked-up response from Vitello during his ESPN interview.
“That kind of noise creates emotion,” he said, citing a crowd that he awarded an assist á la NBA legend John Stockton. “When the whole crowd is in unison, it’s my favorite thing in the world, aside from my family, obviously.”
But right after showing his emotion, Vitello flipped those feelings over — literally — with a somersault into the team huddle in right field.
The moment was a celebration of what’s been achieved already, with an added hint of the excitement still to come.
“I don’t think we can call it a flip,” he added on the exertion. “It was more of a spastic tumble. That exhilaration is the best I can do to describe it.”
Whether Vitello’s gymnastics are valid or not, the crowd’s effect was felt throughout the weekend. Tennessee had a combined attendance of 11,898 through the Vols’ three games, and by Heflin’s account, next weekend should be even bigger.
“We’ve said it all year,” Heflin said. “Once you open it up, the support has been great. How could you not love this team? This team is so infectious, and the city of Knoxville is behind us. We don’t intend on letting them down.”