Tennessee, Florida State Score Key Wins At 2024 College World Series

UNC cleanup hitter Anthony Donforio drove a ball into center field, over Ensley’s head. He had to sprint back to the wall, and he didn’t slow up, crashing into the wall at close to full speed just a step or two after snagging the ball.

“I knew it was going to carry and I knew where it was going to go,” Ensley said. “I guess I was fortunate enough to run into the wall and make the catch, but the wall got me pretty good.”

Righthander Drew Beam was awestruck on the mound, thankful Ensley had saved a triple – or more.

“I was dumbfounded,” Beam said. “That was a crazy catch.”

Ensley, a redshirt junior, has developed into one of Tennessee’s key players over his four years in Knoxville. He’s been an everyday player the last two seasons, and this year is hitting .289/.392/.533 with 11 home runs, in addition to playing high-level defense.

While his catch Sunday was sensational, it’s the kind of play the Volunteers have come to expect from him.

“The wall didn’t stand a chance,” reliever Kirby Connell said.

Ensley left the game two innings later after Tennessee took the lead. He suffered a lower body injury, but is considered day-to-day and said that getting two days off – Tennessee doesn’t play again until Wednesday – should make it possible for him to not miss a game.

3. Jaime Ferrer homered twice in Florida State’s victory, continuing his hot stretch at the plate. He’s on a 13-game hitting streak, during which he is 22-for-55 with eight home runs.

He’s been even hotter of late. He has five home runs in his last four games – two in Omaha and two in super regionals. He’s 8-for-17, six of those eight hits have gone for extra bases and he’s struck out just once.

On Sunday, Ferrer went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs. He became the first Florida State player to hit multiple home runs in a CWS game since Marshall McDougall in 2000.

Both of Ferrer’s home runs went out to the bullpen right down the left field line. The wind was blowing to left during the game and while hitting home runs in Charles Schwab Field remains difficult, getting them into the bullpens down the lines remains the best way to do it.

But Ferrer said he wasn’t doing anything differently than normal on Sunday.

“During BP we noticed a lot of balls were leaving the park if they were elevated to left field,” Ferrer said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to stick to your same approach. You’ve got to look for one pitch. And when you get it, you can’t miss it.”

4. Virginia’s loss means the Cavaliers went 0-2 for the second straight year in Omaha. While they have reached the CWS in three of the last four seasons, they are 1-6 in those appearances and have lost six straight games.

Getting to Omaha is hard enough and Virginia has re-established itself as probably the best program in the ACC over the last four years. But now that the Cavaliers are consistently getting to the CWS, it’s fair to ask what they have to do to get over the hump and make an extended stay in Omaha.

Four of their six losses have come by one run, including Friday’s 3-2, walk-off loss to North Carolina. So, while the trips have ended disappointingly quickly, Virginia is clearly close.

“It’s just being a little bit better, having some guys that when we’ve won in the past, we’ve had really, really elite pitching and always have played great defense,” coach Brian O’Connor said. “So, it’s to get a little bit better on the mound and finishing innings off on the mound. We’ve got to get some position players the next time we come here that really step up and have big days. And we just didn’t have enough of it today.

“I don’t think it’s anything with regards to the program or anything. We’re proud of making our seventh trip, but I feel like we absolutely know what it takes to win in Omaha. You’ve just got to get the guys to do it. And when you come here enough, there’s going to be times that you don’t perform real well.

“We’re really, really close. We were really close last year and just have to be focused on being a little bit, as you said, that 1 percent, a little bit better. And we weren’t that this weekend.”

Virginia is expected to lose some key pieces from this year’s team. Virginia is likely to lose five regulars from its lineup, including shortstop Griff O’Ferrall, who O’Connor called a “program changer.” Some key pitchers also figure to move on, including righthander Jay Woolfolk, who started Sunday.

But Virginia will return infielders Henry Godbout (.372/.472/.645) and Henry Ford (.336/.409/.597, 17 HR), two of the team’s top hitters and lefthander Evan Blanco (8-3, 3.62), the team’s No. 1 starter. A return to Omaha in 2025 is not out of the question.

5. The first six games in the CWS have all been won by the team that was nominally the home team. That hasn’t happened in Omaha since 1984, when the home team won the first 11 games.

There’s probably not a ton to take from that stat. There have been three walk-offs and that’s helping the numbers. But it’s striking nonetheless – and an extension of a very chalky first two weekends of the NCAA Tournament.