Kavares Tears hit a three-run homer as part of a four-RBI performance and top-seeded Tennessee remained unbeaten in Men’s College World Series play with a 6-1 victory over No. 4 North Carolina on Sunday night in Omaha, Neb.
Reese Champman added a solo homer and Dean Curley had an RBI single for the Volunteers (57-12), who are the lone team in Bracket 1 to win their first two MCWS contests.
Tennessee’s Drew Beam (9-2) struck out seven in five-plus innings while allowing one run and four hits.
Vance Honeycutt homered for North Carolina (48-15), which will face Florida State on Tuesday in an elimination game. The winner of that contest meets Tennessee on Wednesday.
Neither team had a hit over the first three innings. North Carolina’s Parks Harber had a two-out single to right in the top of the fourth for the first safety.
Tennessee broke loose in the bottom of the frame against Shea Sprague (3-2).
Blake Burke had a leadoff single to left for the Volunteers’ first hit. One out later, Dylan Dreiling walked before Sprague struck out Hunter Ensley for the second out.
Tears stepped into the box and hammered a 2-0 pitch to right to give Tennessee a 3-0 lead. It was his 20th homer of the season.
The Volunteers added on the fifth as Chapman drilled the second pitch of the inning well over the wall in right center. It was Chapman’s seventh homer of the season.
North Carolina got on the board in the sixth when Honeycutt sent Beam’s fifth pitch of the inning over the wall in left. It was his 27th homer of the season.
Casey Cook and Harber followed with singles to end Beam’s stint. Kirby Connell entered and worked out of the jam to keep the margin at three.
Tennessee struck again in the sixth on Curley’s RBI ground single that scored Colby Backus from second. Tears tacked on his run-scoring double to right in the eighth.
Sprague allowed four runs and three hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked two.
–Field Level Media
