Tennessee 5, LSU 2: Chase Dollander Stays Hot
Tennessee stays perfect in Hoover following a late-night victory over the Tigers.
Welcome to the “Tennessee Thomas” newsletter written by “The Sports Renaissance Man” Chase Thomas. This is a section of the newsletter where I write about the Tennessee Volunteers. Who would have guessed? In my game recaps I follow a “cut to the chase” style with those words highlighted in bold throughout the piece. I do hope that you enjoy it and add your email below so you never miss an issue. This newsletter is delivered to your inbox, not your doorstep, daily. Happy reading.
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You made it. Yes, you, the diehard Tennessee Volunteer fan who stayed awake just long enough to watch Redmond Walsh tie Todd Helton’s record in career saves on Rocky Top. The time? Around 2:30 A.M. If you’re local. But, hey, weather delays be damned, you stayed up to watch the Vols capture their 51st victory on the season. Granted, you might be thinking about a cheeseburger from Litton’s or some lobster fettuccine alfredo from Savelli’s thanks to the great Tom Hart on the SEC Network broadcast, but the point remains, you made it and no LSU fan hustling up and down the aisle in Hoover with the “K” card can change that.
The Tennessee Volunteers move to the semifinals without a blemish, along with the No. 2 seed in Texas A&M. Now, they’ll wait for the winner of LSU vs. Kentucky and have to lose back-to-back games to avoid qualifying for Championship Sunday. The same is true for the Aggies. It seems like the two charismatic, confident clubs with gigantic fanbases and college football stadiums are on a collision course with one another. A few months ago, the thought was that a date with the Arkansas Razorbacks would be all the rage come late May. Instead, it’s a date with the white hot Texas A&M Aggies.
That is, of course, if both teams take care of business on Saturday in Hoover.
There was a moment on Friday night that warmed the hearts of every Tennessee fan watching both in the stands and at home. It came after starting pitcher Chase Dollander through his last pitch, pitch No. 99 on the evening. The broadcasters wondered aloud if this was indeed it for the Vols’ ace, and, in fact, it was. Dollander was smiling from ear to ear, along with all of his teammates in the top of the seventh inning. There were two outs in the inning and nobody aboard. However, it was time, and after, nine Ks and another big-time performance against one the most potent offenses in the SEC, Dollander exited the mound to a round of applause from the Volunteer fans in attendance. It was nice, and you forgot how close things were for LSU to really flipping the script on Dollander. (An unreal snag from Jordan Beck out in right, for instance.) However, manager Tony Vitello pulled Dollander up 5-2, a score that would hold for the remainder of the evening. Cut to the next Peyton Manning financial commercial.
There were two different plays early that perfectly incapsulate what makes Jordan Beck a special ball player. In the bottom of the first, it was Beck who ripped a deep liner to right field to score Luc Lipcius from first and give Beck a triple to put the Vols up 1-0. In the the top of the second inning, just after his RBI triple, Beck bailed his ace out with a ridiculous sliding grab down the foul line in right to make the third out and prevent two runs from scoring and giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead and all the momentum. Sometimes, when a special talent like Beck slips into a hitting slump, you take them for granted. His early heroics reminded folks why you should never do so.
But, goodness, what an evening for Chase Dollander, huh? 99 pitches and nine strikeouts. The man could not escape the number nine Friday night. This evening had it all for Dollander, though. He kicked things off with three-straight strikeouts, found himself in a couple jams, and had no interest in ever falling behind in the count. The kid just does not get rattled. There was a moment where that was a possibility, after a rare errant throw from shortstop Cortland Lawson that bounced up on him the wrong way and he airmailed his throw to Luc over on first. However, with the Vols up just 3-2 after the event, Chase forced a pop up to left field for Seth Stephenson and struck out the next hitter to end the ending and the danger.
The Vols have not blown a game in which they went up three runs this season. Friday night was no different. The Vols never looked back after the damage they did in the bottom of the fifth frame. With his pitchcount high, you wondered why LSU manager Jay Johnson left his starter in the game to try and get through the heart of Tennessee’s order again. Once Drew Gilbert saw red once again on a strike-three call early in the game that he did not agree with you knew it was only a matter of time before he knocked in another Vol, and he did in that frame to put the Vols up 4-2. Jorel Ortega added another insurance run with a shot down the leftfield line to give the Vols their final run on the evening. Now, the chase is on for the Vols to meet the Aggies on Sunday. Kentucky or LSU, once again, awaits.
Chase Thomas is the Sports Renaissance Man, Atlanta Sports Guy and Vol For Life. He is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee and resides in Knoxville, TN. Chase also obtained his undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of North Georgia. He has written for a variety of publications that include Outsider, SB Nation, VICE Sports, SI’s The Cauldron, Cox Media Group & ESPN’s TrueHoop Network. You can email him at chasethomaspodcast[at]gmail.