OMAHA, Neb. – Did you know that college baseball’s national player of the year and this season’s SEC player of the year are teammates?
Same team. Not the same player.
And that gives an idea of just how sharp the buzzsaw that Tennessee baseball ran into during Saturday night’s 6-3 loss to LSU at the College World Series.
These Tigers were the consensus preseason No. 1 for good reason. They have dudes. Big-time players. Future Major Leaguers. The Dick Howser Trophy winner in pitcher Paul Skenes, who struck out 12 on Saturday, giving him 200 this season – and 19 walks. The SEC player of the year in outfielder Dylan Crews, who went 2-for-5 on Saturday and actually had his batting average drop one point – to .433.
Skenes won this game. Crews helped, too, as did others.
Against Tennessee, LSU’s best players made a difference.
“This time of year, you win these games against these elite teams when great players play great,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “… Our (top) guys were guys, and that's what it takes to win games here.”
And that’s what it’ll take for Tennessee to make a run in the losers bracket after dropping its opening game.
The Vols aren't done yet, but they'll need their best players to make a difference, beginning with Chase Dollander on the mound in Monday’s elimination game against Stanford.
“You can never count us out – ever,” Dollander said after Saturday night’s loss. “After everything that we've been through all year, you can never look at us and say, 'Oh, they're defeated.' We're just going to keep fighting and keep fighting and hope some things go our way.”
Dollander is Tennessee’s answer to the Skenes of this tournament. He’s the Vols’ elite, big-league, starting arm that's capable of dominance and going deep into games. Last season, Dollander was one of college baseball’s best pitchers. This season, he hasn’t been as good, with his ERA going from 2.39 to 4.50.
But college baseball still knows what Dollander can do, though, and that includes his UT teammates.
And that’ll bring positive thoughts after Saturday night.
“Obviously, we faced a big-league arm (in Skenes) tonight,” UT outfielder Jared Dickey said. “But having Doe go on Monday, we've got a lot of confidence behind him. … I think we're going to go out there and have some fun.”
Tennessee will need Dollander at his best. Same for Chase Burns out of the bullpen and Drew Beam if they get to a third game here. The Vols have the pitching depth to be dangerous the longer they play in Omaha.
But they’ll also need their biggest bats to play bigger. No shame in struggling against Skenes, but Tennessee missed an opportunity late against a different LSU pitcher. Vols second baseman Christian Moore struck out looking – as the possible tying run in the eighth inning – against Tigers reliever Riley Cooper, ending the eighth inning and Tennessee’s last gasp.
Other teams made late rallies to win the first three games of this CWS. With the door cracked and Skenes out of the game, Tennessee couldn't capitalize to do the same.
Cooper is left-handed, which made him a good bullpen call against the Vols. They’ve tended to struggle more against southpaws.
Note, too, that Stanford held back its left-handed ace in Saturday’s loss to Wake Forest. Quinn Mathews is set to face Tennessee instead.
Another tough draw for the Vols? No doubt.
But, hey, this is the College World Series. Anyone think it’d be easy?
To keep playing past Monday, Tennessee needs better from Moore – who was scorching hot after the Clemson Regional – than a 0-for-4 performance with three Ks. Wasn’t just him, either.
Moore, Zane Denton and Blake Burke combined to go 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts Saturday. Entering the CWS, those three Vols had nine of the team’s 11 home runs in the NCAA Tournament.
It has got to be better at the plate Monday.
ESTES:Observations from UT's opening CWS defeat to LSU
Dollander needs to be that guy on the mound Monday.
Tennessee needs its top players to step up for the Vols to keep playing.
“At this point of the season, if you need a pep talk, you probably shouldn't be here,” Dollander said. “This is the time of year for college baseball. …
“I'm excited to have the ball in my hand and get going.”
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.
