NCAA Super Regional: ND Bests Tennessee 8-6 in Game 1

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The matchup between Tennessee and Notre Dame seemed pretty simple. The Irish had the best pitching in the ACC and the Vols, well the Vols were simply the best of the best during the regular season. In this series, it would take the Irish pitching and plenty of it to beat the vaunted offense of Tennessee. It was Game1 of this Super Regional and what a game it was. A game that would see the Irish of Notre Dame beat a #1 team in the country for the first time in 20 years.

The Irish wasted no time doing exactly what they had to do, which was jump all over the Vols. Ryan Cole started things with a single to left and then got all the way to third by stealing a base and advancing on an error. The Irish got on the board when Carter Putz launched his seventh homer of the year to make it 2-0 Notre Dame.

In the second, the Irish would strike again via the long ball. This time it was from Jared Miller, a solo shot, to make it 3-0. The long ball would kill the Vols again in the third when Jack Syska sent a blast into the parking lot to make it 5-0 ND. All of a sudden, the Vols found themselves in a deep hole three innings in.

One of the things that has made Tennessee so successful all year is its ability to come back from many deficits. They got it going, kind of sort of, in their top half of the third when Courtland Lawson scored on a sac fly to make the score 5-1 but that is all the Vols would get.

In the fourth inning, the Irish struck again and yes, it was via the long ball. This time it was Jack Brannigan with a two-out three-run shot that made it 8-1 Irish. The look on the Tennessee bench was pure shock as they did not expect this offensive onslaught from ND. In the first five innings, the Irish belted four home runs and gave themselves a cushion that would be hard to come back from.

Home runs by Trey Lipscomb in the fourth and Jorel Ortega in the sixth would cut the Irish lead to 8-3. Three more runs from the Vols in their half of the seventh would put this Super Regional at 8-5 Notre Dame. The only question now was could the Vols pitching hold off the Irish bats and could their offense make a comeback?

The answer to question one was yes as ND never scored again. The answer to question two was a resounding no and Notre Dame takes game 1 of this Super Regional matchup, 8-6.

The mission for both to make it to Omaha is clear. Notre Dame wins today and it’s a wrap. For the Vols, they have to win twice to keep up their hopes of finishing what they started. Game 2 will begin at 2 pm est with John Michael Bertrand on the hill for the Irish and Chase Dollander going for the Vols.