Pitcher Drew Beam made controversy statement he was suspended for 6 months reason for….
Pitcher Drew Beam made conversion statement he was suspended for 6 months reason for….
is no stranger to finding success at Charles Schwab Field. He threw well against LSU a season ago, but it wasn’t enough for Tennessee baseball to earn the win.
Sunday night was a completely different story. With the help of his defense, he finally got that Omaha win.
Beam worked five innings against North Carolina, giving up one run while striking out seven to help secure a College World Series win. It was a similar performance to his 5.2 innings a year ago, which included nine strikeouts and two runs.
Photo Gallery: Tennessee baseball downs North Carolina in College World Series
Photo Gallery: Tennessee baseball downs North Carolina in College World Series
Cole Moore / The Daily Beacon
“I think when you do have the best athletes playing defense behind some of the best arms in the country, runs are always going to be difficult to get,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said.
Beam threw 25 of his first 27 pitches for strikes, never seeming to skip a beat through the first four innings. It was a performance that fans had come to expect out of the long-time ace for Tennessee — a bounce back from the last few weeks where the righty has struggled.
The junior’s last six outings saw him give up three or more runs. But on the biggest stage, he delivered.
“The last time we were in that dugout, Drew pitched really well for us, but he pitched even better tonight,” Vitello said. “We just followed his lead. And he helped put us out front which is what you want your starter to do.”
The outing got some help from the Tennessee defense, too. Hunter Ensley went barreling into the wall to save a potential double, getting injured in the process. The infield also bounced back from Friday’s performance, making impressive plays to keep Beam’s pitch count low.
When you mix Beam’s efficiency with the consistency of the defense, you get an outing like Sunday.
“Cal (Stark) called a great game behind the plate,” Beam said. “We had pretty much everything going. I was just trusting with what he had game planned and we had game planned with and we were going with it. … The defense played well behind me. That helped me out in some situations.”
