By Phil Stanton
CBI Co-Founder/Editor
OMAHA, Neb. – Who better to shine on a hot afternoon in Omaha than a flame-thrower named Burns?
Sophomore Chase Burns threw six innings of shutout relief with nine strikeouts as Tennessee eliminated Stanford 6-4 on Monday afternoon in the 2023 College World Series.
“Coming out of the bullpen,” Burns said, “you’ve got one thing in mind, it’s just do your job. No fight is too big for us.”
The Vols (44-21) will meet the loser of the Wake Forest-LSU game on Tuesday, June 20 at 6 p.m. CT. The Cardinal finish their season at 44-20.
Burns allowed a pair of singles and did not walk a batter. He retired the final 10 hitters he faced.
“He changed the energy of the game when he came in,” said UT head coach Tony Vitello.
It looked like UT might get on the board early against Stanford starter Quinn Mathews. Maui Ahuna (3 for 5) had a leadoff single in the top of the first and went to third on a one-out base hit by Jared Dickey (3 for 5). Griffin Merritt sent a fly ball to shallow left. Ahuna tagged at third and the throw from Alberto Rios nailed Ahuna at the plate to halt the threat.
The Cardinal put together a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. Carter Graham drew a walk and went to second on a base hit to left by Braden Montgomery (2 for 4). The pair pulled off a double steal. Cal Stark’s throw to second went into center field, allowing Graham to score the game’s first run. Rios (2 for 3) followed with a double down the left field line to knock in Montgomery and make the score 2-0.
After UT stranded a pair in the second, Stanford doubled its lead in the third. Eddie Park was hit by a pitch and Tommy Troy drew a walk. Montgomery’s base hit brought home Park and Rios had a sacrifice fly to center to plate Troy, giving the Cardinal a 4-0 advantage.
UT would put up a crooked number in the fifth. Zane Denton (2 for 4), Stark and Ahuna all singled to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Hunter Ensley brought in Denton with the first run for the Vols. Dickey drove in a run with a single to center and Christian Moore added a two-run knock as UT tied it at 4-4. A walk to Blake Burke (2 for 3) reloaded the bases and marked the end of the day for Mathews. Drew Dowd entered and struck out Denton to strand three and keep it tied.
Mathews threw 89 pitches in 4.2 innings with 10 hits, four runs, one walk and six strikeouts.
The Vols broke the deadlock in the seventh. Griffin Merritt drew a leadoff walk and went to third on a one-out double by Burke. Denton greeted Brandt Pancer with a groundout that brought home Merritt with the go-ahead run. Burke scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 6-4.
“I love being here,” Stanford skipper David Esquer said. “Just so proud and just so blessed to have coached this team. Been to the World Series for three straight years. We’ve hosted a Regional for six straight years. Been to four straight Super Regionals. We’ve got some guys who have some history, some track record. They’ve left our program a better place than they found it.”