OMAHA, Nebraska — Tennessee baseball came up clutch with a Game Two win in the College World Series Finals to keep their national championship hopes alive after losing Game One to Texas A&M.
In that 4-1 win, Cal Stark, who calls Knoxville his hometown and graduated from Farragut High School, delivered a big two-run home run that gave UT what they needed to show up on the final scoreboard.
He did that amidst not having a hit so far in the College World Series until that emphatic one. He was 0 of 16 from the plater in Omaha prior to it.
He was relieved to knock it out of the park.
It felt pretty dang good, he told WBIR after the game. "I was trying to put quality at-bats together and I did it and it felt good."
He said he didn't see it go over the fence. When he found out he went bonkers.
"I started screaming at the dugout," he said. "I tossed the bat. That one felt good. Everyone dreams of doing that here in this stage of the Finals. It is one I will never forget."
Thanks in part to Stark's clutch moment, the Vols will have a chance to win the first national championship in program history. Game Three for a winner takes all will be on Monday at 7 p.m. at Charles Schwab Field.
The game will be televised on ESPN.
