Men’s College World Series Day 6: Tennessee handles Florida State; Florida beats Kentucky to face Texas A&M in semifinals

The Florida Gators will play two games on Wednesday after they eliminated the Kentucky Wildcats in the first game of the day in Omaha. After a seven-run first inning, Florida tacked on eight more, powered by Pierce Coppola on the mound and Brody Donay at the plate, to move on to the College World Series semifinals against Texas A&M.

Florida 15, Kentucky 4

Florida used a big first inning to surge to the evening semifinal against the Aggies. The Gators scored seven runs in the first inning, chasing Kentucky starter Dominic Niman after he recorded just one out while allowing five runs on three hits. One of those hits was a Donay grand slam that gave Florida a 7-1 lead.

The Gators tacked on two more in the bottom of the third, another five in the fifth and one more in the sixth.

Kentucky found it tough to break through against Florida lefty Pierce Coppola, who went five innings and struck out nine batters.

Émilien Pitre’s two-run home run off Coppola in the top of the fifth inning was the last time the Wildcats would score in the game.

Key stats

Donay is the fifth Gator with a multi-home run game in this College World Series. His second blast of the game went 415 feet and delivered a 117.6 mph exit velocity, the hardest-hit ball in the tournament. He finished the game 3-for-5 with five RBI.

Highlights

The Gators jumped all over the Wildcats early, punctuated by Donay’s opposite-field grand slam.

Donay wasn’t finished hitting bombs. He led off the bottom of the fifth with his 14th home run of the season to make it 10-5 Gators.

Jac Caglianone hit his 35th home run of the season and 75th of his Gators career to pass Matt LaPorta for the most in program history.

Tennessee 7, Florida State 2

In the second game of the day, Tennessee made easy work of Florida State to extend the Volunteers’ postseason and advance to the finals.

Tennessee got things going early, scoring three runs in the first inning and adding a fourth in the second. Although Florida State had some strong efforts, the Volunteers held the Seminoles scoreless through six innings while adding two more runs — one in the fourth and another in the seventh.

Back-to-back solo homers from Daniel Cantu and Alex Lodise in the seventh inning put Florida State on the board, but the Seminoles couldn’t close the gap. A home run from Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke to open the ninth sealed the deal for the Volunteers, ending Florida State’s season.

Key stats

Tennessee pitcher Zander Sechrist had a great game for the Volunteers across six innings, throwing three strikeouts and allowing just five hits.

On the Florida State side, starting pitcher John Abraham was pulled soon after Tennessee’s hot bats got going in the first inning. He was replaced by Brennen Oxford, who threw four strikeouts in three innings. Joe Charles then finished the game, throwing five strikeouts while holding the Volunteers to just three hits.

Highlights

Although Tennessee’s bats gave the team the early lead, it was the Vols’ fielding that kept it. Tennessee center fielder Kaveres Tears helped keep Florida State scoreless with a monster catch against the wall — losing his hat and glasses but somehow holding on to the ball — to end the first inning.

Volunteers second baseman Christian Moore had another good night, hitting an RBI triple in the fourth to extend Tennessee’s lead.

The back-to-back dingers in the seventh marked Florida State’s main offensive threat of the night, with both sailing to right field with ease.

But Burke’s homer sealed the deal for Tennessee, adding to the Volunteers’ insurmountable lead and helping clinch the team’s victory.

What’s next

With the win, Tennessee advances to the College World Series championship, which begins Saturday. Florida State and Kentucky have been eliminated.

Florida, after playing earlier Wednesday, will play again Wednesday night against Texas A&M as part of the Bracket 2 semifinal. A win by the Aggies would eliminate the Gators.