Hey Omaha, I Didn’t Hear A Bell, One More Round Between Tennessee And Texas A&M For National Championship

OMAHA, NE - If you were paying attention to the College World Series through the first six innings, it felt as if Texas A&M was going to push its way to a national championship, but somebody didn't send the memo to Tennessee's Dylan Dreiling in the 4-1 win over the Aggies. 

The hero in the Vols' opening game in Omaha once again came up clutch at the most crucial time. Let's be honest, if you were a Tennessee fan watching at home or sitting in the stands, you most likely felt as though the 2024 season was coming to an end Sunday. The nerves were certainly all over the place, while your knees were shaking just as bad as the Vols offense leading up to the seventh inning. 

When I say there was nothing going the Vols way through six inning in terms of luck, i mean absolutely nothing. Tennessee was 0 for 16 with runners in scoring position and the Aggies were finding its way out of jam after jam. On two occasions, the Vols had the bases loaded, but came up empty. This just didn't feel like a game that was going Tennessee's way. 

Maybe it was some type of voodoo that Morgan Wallen brought with him to Omaha, but that all disappeared in the seventh inning. The Vols were 0 for 17 with runners in scoring position until Dylan stepped up to the plate against Kaiden Wilson. A fastball down the middle came his way, and Dreiling blasted a rocket to right field and over the wall, giving Tennessee the 2-1 lead, finally breaking through on offense. 

"It was an SEC war, or just a postseason war," Tony Vitello said postgame. "And in that situation, if you had your druthers, you'd like to have the last at-bat because you know the ninth inning is going to be full of drama."

If there's one thing we've learned about this Tennessee team throughout is to never count it out, and with just one swing from Dreiling, it all changed for the Vols. 

Texas A&M had done all it could through six innings to keep this game in check with a 1-0 lead, but even then you knew this game was one swing away from changing. And from that moment on in the seventh inning, everything was coming up Orange. 

Tony Vitello spoke about this Tennessee team not sulking over what transpired Saturday night and coming out for the second round of this three-round fight. For almost three hours Sunday afternoon, the Vols just couldn't catch a break, but the dam was finally broken by Dreiling, and it was about to fully open, thanks to another clutch at-bat. 

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - JUNE 23: Christian Moore #1 celebrates with Dylan Dreiling #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers after a 2-run home run against the Texas A&M Aggies in the seventh inning during game two of the Division I Men's Baseball Championship held at Charles Schwab Field on June 23, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.  (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

A partisan Tennessee crowd was waiting for this offense to give Aaron Combs some breathing room, something to spark the crowd and the dugout. Luckily for the Vols, it was catcher Cal Stark who sent the orange-clad stands into pandemonium. 

For all the shortcomings this offense had seen through six innings, Tennessee proved why they are the most dangerous team on offense in college baseball, this time with their catcher coming through clutch at the plate. 

What was once a 1-0 deficit that felt like the world was ending for Tony Vitello and his squad, now turned into a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning that they never looked back from. Once again, just as we saw last week, you just can't count this team, and Texas A&M learned that the hard way. 

But credit the Aggies for not going quiet into the night and looking ahead to Game 3. Thanks to a few clutch hits to start the ninth, the Vols had to pull reliever Kirby Connell and bring in Nate Snead, who tookover with two-runners on and no outs. 

Unfortunately for the Aggies, their push came up short, leaving runners at the corner, losing 4-1 to force a deciding game. 

One More Game For A National Championship In College World Series

The moment is finally here, after both teams took wins over the past two days, it all comes down to one final game of the 2024 season. Call it whatever you like, but it was supposed to end this way. Two teams that have been on a collision course for Omaha will now battle it out one more time for a national championship. 

Don't you just love this sport? A dud of a game over nearly three hours has now given us the opportunity to enjoy one more game. Going off how Tennessee was playing on offense, and the Aggies defense through six-innings, it was looking more like a celebration night for Texas A&M fans and players. 

OMAHA, NEBRASKA - JUNE 23: Dylan Dreiling #8 and Christian Moore #1 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate after a 2-run home run in the seventh inning against the Texas A&M Aggies during game two of the Division I Men's Baseball Championship held at Charles Schwab Field on June 23, 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska.  (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

But Tennessee would not be denied one of the biggest moments of its season, and if you are a baseball fan, Monday night will be a must-see event. We have witnessed multiple games in this College World Series that will be remembered for years to come, and even though this one was mostly dry in terms of entertainment through six innings, the baseball gods delivered once again. 

Asked what he will do over the next 25 hours until Monday night's first pitch, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello mentioned that he'll need to find his other AirPod before he gets some sleep. 

"I left one of my damn AirPods -- I pulled a Zander and left one of them. So I had one in and I could hear the party out on the street," Vitello said postgame. "So last night was tough to sleep. I'll put both those in. You just go sound machine -- brown noise instead of white noise for me personally. You can make your own selection. 

"But, yeah, you've got to eat. You've got to rest. You've got to say hi to your family. Got some friends in town. So probably can't take in Omaha the way they will, but at least say hi to them. And I think you just gotta be a dude because they're probably champing at the bit to get back out there in the old backyard baseball redo or rematch."

This was already going to go down as one of the craziest seasons in recent memory, and the SEC will still win its seventh title in the past 10 years, but Tennessee decided to turn this into one for the record books. 

If you thought the previous nine days have been fun, wait till these two teams take the field Monday night in front of what will certainly be a raucous crowd. 

One final game, for a national championship.