Five teams played three games in the Men's College World Series on Wednesday, and the end result is the Texas A&M-Tennessee Championship Series.
Tuesday's second-round game between Kentucky and Florida was postponed due to weather, leading to a doubleheader for the Gators, while Texas A&M also had to prepare. Meanwhile, top-seeded Tennessee was one win away from its first championship since 1951.
So once again, it will be an all-SEC championship. Since 2020, when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, seven of the eight teams that have made it to the final series have been from the SEC. The only exception: 2022 Oklahoma, a program that is about to join the SEC.
Here's how everything happened.
Texas A&M 6, Florida 0
After routing Kentucky, Florida started the game in trouble and spent the entire game in more trouble.
Gators starting pitcher Liam Peterson, a freshman, started the game by walking four of the first five batters he faced, allowing the first run and leaving reliever Fisher Jameson in a bases-loaded, one-out situation to start the game. Aggies fans were enjoying it.
Jameson was able to get out of this situation by allowing just one run, but it turned out to be the difference between elimination and another game in the semifinals. Aggies starting pitcher Justin Lamkin, who had thrown three scoreless innings against Florida on Saturday, threw five more scoreless innings this time around, striking out nine and allowing just three hits.
Aggies relievers Chris Cortez, Josh Stewart and Evan Eschenbeck pitched the next four innings to complete the shutout.
Key Statistics
The best way to stop any offense is to not allow any big hits. The Texas A&M pitching staff allowed just four hits in total, with Colby Shelton's double being the only extra base hit.
Highlights
A shutout isn’t possible without good defense, and Ali Camarillo Jr. accomplished that with a seamless catch in the third inning after the Gators had the bases loaded.
The game broke open in the sixth inning when Caden Sorrell ran the ball in from one yard out to give the Aggies a five-run lead.
Tennessee 7, Florida State 2
In the other game of the day, Tennessee easily defeated Florida State to extend the Volunteers' postseason advancement and advance to the finals.
Tennessee jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and a fourth in the second. Although Florida State made some strong efforts, the Volunteers held the Seminoles scoreless for six innings and added two more runs – one in the fourth inning and another in the seventh.
Two consecutive solo homers by Daniel Cantu and Alex Loddis in the seventh inning gave Florida State the lead, but the Seminoles could not close the gap. Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke's home run in the ninth inning sealed the deal for the Volunteers, ending Florida State's season.
Key Statistics
Tennessee pitcher Xander Secrist pitched a stellar game for the Volunteers over six innings, striking out three and allowing just five hits.
For Florida State, John Abraham was taken out after Tennessee's batters were given a solid first inning. He was replaced by Brennan Oxford, who threw four strikeouts in three innings. Joe Charles then finished the game by throwing five strikeouts and holding the Volunteers to just three hits.
Highlights
Though Tennessee's batters gave the team an early lead, the Vols' fielding kept it. Tennessee center fielder Kavere's Tears helped keep Florida State scoreless by making a spectacular catch near the wall – losing his hat and glasses, but somehow holding on to the ball – to end the first inning.
Volunteers second baseman Christian Moore also had a good night, hitting an RBI triple in the fourth to extend Tennessee’s lead.
Two consecutive goals in the seventh provided Florida State's main offensive threat of the night, with both goals sailing easily beyond right field.
But Burke's homer sealed the game for Tennessee, solidifying the Volunteers' unassailable lead and ensuring the team's victory.
Florida 15, Kentucky 4
Florida made it to the evening semifinal against the Aggies with a stellar first inning. The Gators scored seven runs in the first inning, outscoring Kentucky starter Dominic Niemann, who recorded just one out while allowing five runs on three hits. One of those hits was a Donnie grand slam that gave Florida a 7-1 lead.
The Gators scored two more runs in the third overtime, five more in the fifth overtime and another in the sixth overtime.
Kentucky found it difficult to get going against Florida lefty Pierce Coppola, who went five innings and struck out nine batters.
A two-run home run by Emilian Pitre off Coppola in the top of the fifth inning was the Wildcats' last opportunity to score in the game.
Key Statistics
Donnay is the fifth Gator with a multi-home run game in this College World Series. His second blast of the game went 415 feet and topped out at 117.6 mph, the hardest hit ball in the tournament. He finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI.
Highlights
The Gators kept the pressure on the Wildcats from the start, with Donnaye’s opposite-field grand slam playing a key role.
Donnie didn't stop hitting bombs. He hit his 14th home run of the season in the fifth to put the Gators up 10-5.
Jack Caglianone hit his 35th home run of the season and 75th of his Gators career to surpass Matt LaPorta for most home runs in program history.