College World Series 2024: Predictions, Top Prospects to Watch in Finals Game 2
College World Series 2024: Predictions, Top Prospects to Watch in Finals Game 20 of 3
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The Texas A&M Aggies are one win away from the College World Series title.
A&M took the lead in the best-of-three series against the Tennessee Volunteers with a 9-5 win on Saturday night in Omaha.
The Aggies hopped on the Vols pitching staff early with seven runs in the first three innings. The Vols played from behind for all nine innings.
The top-seeded Vols are not out of the series yet. They will throw star pitcher Drew Beam in Sunday’s Game 2.
However, the Vols need their top bats to show up in Game 2 as well. The top three hitters in their order combined to go 3-for-13.
Texas A&M received four multi-hit games from its lineup, but even its performance can get better at the plate, especially Jace LaViolette gets going.
Game 2 Preview1 of 3
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Tennessee will play an elimination game for just the second time in the entire NCAA tournament.
The Vols blew out the Evansville Purple Aces in Game 3 of their super regional matchup to fend off an early exit from the event.
The top-seeded team in the country had not lost in Omaha before Saturday night. It will turn to Drew Beam, who is 8-2 with 80 strikeouts and a 4.16 ERA to keep its season alive into Monday.
A&M sits in a fantastic position because of its strong early hitting and a solid four-inning outing from Ryan Prager in Game 1.
The Aggies’ pitching strategy is less defined for Game 2. Head coach Jim Schlossnagle said Chris Cortez will part of the plan and he needs to see what he can get out of Justin Lamkin, per TexAgs.
Cortez leads the Aggies in wins and is second on the team in strikeouts to Prager. Lamkin has 83 strikeouts in 63 innings.
The pitching matchup appears to be as even as it could get, so Game 2 likely comes down to which bats show up for the two SEC schools.
Top Prospects to Watch2 of 3
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Christian Moore, Tennessee
Christian Moore is the top-rated MLB draft prospect participating in the College World Series championship round.
Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery is a projected top-10 pick, but he is out with a leg injury he suffered in the super regional round.
Moore went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts out of the leadoff spot in Game 1. He needs to contribute more to the Vols offense in order for the top seed to keep its season alive.
Billy Amick, Tennessee
Amick had a slightly better day at the dish than Moore on Saturday. He went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks and two strikeouts.
Moore, Amick and No. 2 hitter Blake Burke could all be drafted within the first five rounds this summer.
Amick owns a .313 batting average, 23 home runs and 65 RBIs. He experienced a significant uptick in power after transferring from Clemson to Tennessee. He only had 13 home runs last season at Clemson.
Prediction3 of 3
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Four of the last five best-of-three championship series in Omaha went to three games.
Only the Ole Miss Rebels in 2023 successfully completed the two-game sweep in the championship round.
History is on Tennessee’s side for Game 2, as is the fact that its most trustworthy starter will be on the mound.
The Vols will not keep their season alive, though, if the top third of the order does not come alive. Nine of their 12 hits in Game 1 came from the No. 4-9 spots in the lineup.
Tennessee needs to match the energy that A&M displayed in the opening frames of Game 1, a run that began with a leadoff home run from Gavin Grahovac.
An early onslaught of runs would benefit either team. A&M has the edge at the plate right now, which was not the case going into the series.
Tennessee scored 25 runs in the first three games in Omaha compared to Texas A&M’s 14.
If the Vols lineup we saw in those contests shows up in Game 2, we will have a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday.
Prediction: Tennessee 7, Texas A&M 5
