Volunteers win, advance to College World Series

Delmonico’s seemingly unshakable confidence in his team aside, the Volunteers’ second baseman seemed slow to believe it, even as his game-changing three-run homer headed out of Russ Chandler Stadium Saturday.

“I couldn’t even hit it out in BP,” Rivera said. “Coach D, ever since we went in the playoffs has said, ‘Mike you have one big one in you. I know it’s going to be a big one.’ It was a fastball in and I turned on it. I knew it was gone as soon as I hit it, I just didn’t know if it would stay fair.”

Rivera’s three-run homer, his first of the season, highlighted a six-run third inning and Tennessee (46-19) earned its fourth trip to the College World series with a 13-3 win over Georgia Tech (45-19), sweeping the NCAA Atlanta Super Regional.

The Yellow Jackets were swept for the third time in four Super Regional appearances, all of them at home. The Volunteers, who also went 3-0 in the Knoxville Regional, remained unbeaten in the NCAA Tournament and qualified for the College World Series for the third time under Delmonico.

“At the start of the season no one thought we were good,” Delmonico said. “We were picked to finish fifth in the SEC East and probably 11th overall. From our administration to our fans to our media, no one thought we could hit,” Delmonico said. “That really fueled our guys.”

Tennessee pounded out 16 hits against eight Tech pitchers and freshman left-hander James Adkins (10-4) allowed three runs on seven hits over 7 2/3 innings to record the win, striking out 11 and walking one.

“I’m real excited for our team,” said Adkins, who consistently threw his curveball and his slider for strikes and reached double figures in strikeouts for the fifth time. “It’s pretty easy to pitch with a 10-spot. The only thing I had to concentrate on was throwing strikes.”

After stranding four runners in the first two innings, the Volunteers solved Georgia Tech starter Lee Hyde (7-4) in the third. They sent 11 batters to the plate and recording seven hits, the big blow Rivera’s home run, which came after Rob Fitzgerald beat out a close play at first.

“The third was huge,” said Georgia Tech coach Danny Hall, who argued the call on Fitzgerald’s hit. “We felt like we had a chance to get out of the inning.”

Julio Borbon’s two-run single keyed a three-run fourth, staking Adkins to a 9-0 lead. Chase Headley had four hits for the Vols, who lost twice to Miami in their last appearance at the College World Series in 2001.