Wednesday was a dream day for Tennessee pitcher Xander Sechrist. The senior left-hander was called up by the Volunteers and tasked with slowing down a Florida State offense with a berth in the Men’s College World Series finals.
For six innings, Sechrist did just that.
Florida State faced a Seminoles lineup that had been big all season, scoring 11 runs against the Volunteers earlier this week. His slugging percentage this season is .559. (7th in the nation) OPS: .974 (No. 6 in the country) — The left-handed pitcher held Florida State scoreless for six innings. Sechrist had complete control of the strike zone, throwing a variety of fastballs and sharp curveballs just about anywhere. Some of those curveballs were in the low 80s and low 70s, keeping Florida State hitters off-balance for the first six innings of the game.
The Volunteers’ high-powered offense, fueled by a three-run first run, had scored six runs by the time the Seminoles allowed Secrist to hit two solo home runs in the seventh. Tennessee added one more in the second inning and one more in the third when Christian Moore (who made history earlier this week by becoming the second player in MCWS history to hit for the cycle) tripled down the right field line, scoring catcher Cal Stark from first base.
While the Seminoles got the game interesting in the seventh with two solo homers, Blake Burke added another run for Tennessee with this perfect homer to right-center field.
But the headlines were garnered by Sechrist, who pitched a solid 6.1 innings against the Volunteers, allowing just two runs and striking out three.
Earlier this week Tennessee manager Tony Vitello said he was “thrilled” that Sechrist got the opportunity and to see the left-hander take the mound.
“I’m really excited,” Vitello said. Said“He has the ability to pitch on the weekend, and he did that, and he led the team to a win in Omaha last year. I mean, that’s very important every game. And he pitched a lot of innings in his career for us, and he’s been a good leader and a good teammate.”
“I don’t want to say it’s a cakewalk or anything like that, but now it’s time for him to enjoy the opportunity to play and for us to enjoy the opportunity to watch him play but also to manage the game how we see fit.”
Sechrist’s performance on Wednesday night made game management easier for coach Vitello.
The Volunteers will now await whoever plays the winner of Texas A&M University vs. Florida University in the Men’s College World Series final. The Aggies need one more win to advance to the finals, while the Gators need two straight wins to make another appearance in the finals.
