From Cannon Peebles to Dylan Dreiling, Tennessee baseball’s win vs Florida State had many heroes

OMAHA, Neb. — Dylan Dreiling kicked his legs from side to side.

The Tennessee baseball outfielder glanced up in the on-deck circle as Florida State reliever Connor Hults warmed up. He didn’t need to watch much. He knew what was coming. 

The scouting report told Dreiling that Hults threw 100% curveballs in his last outing. Dreiling sold out believing Hults would do it again — and he did.

Two pitches later, a shirtless Dreiling gallivanted around the outfield at Charles Schwab Field, overcome by his overjoyed teammates amid the hysteria of a walk-off winner Friday in the College World Series. 

“I just knew Dylan was going to get it done,” outfielder Kavares Tears said. “It was a matter of time. It’s Dylan Dreiling.”

Dreiling belted the winning hit into left-center field for the finishing touch on an improbable ninth-inning rally in a 12-11 win against the Seminoles. The plucky push spanned eight hitters, resulted in four runs and cemented itself as the latest rendition of Tennessee late-game lore.

Tennessee baseball never stopped fighting vs Florida State

Christian Moore took his one big swing to tie the game. He fouled off the fastball he hunted and turned to the Tennessee dugout, where coach Tony Vitello was so wound up, he gripped a handful of dirt.

“Let’s fight,” Moore said three times.

He was down to his final strike with two outs in a two-run game when he uttered those words during Tennessee’s awakening. The Vols played sloppy baseball for the first half of the game, pairing fielding miscues with subpar pitching.

None of it mattered in the ninth inning. 

“We throw jabs all game,” first baseman Blake Burke said. “We throw jabs and when we can throw a big blow, we do it.”

Tennessee unleashed all sorts of punches in the ninth inning, which it began trailing 11-8. Tears crushed a triple to center and scored on a Dean Curley sacrifice fly after the freshman fell behind 1-2. 

Cannon Peebles, who has emerged as a pinch-hitting dynamo, earned a full-count walk that had a significant two-strike foul. Cal Stark popped out, but turned the lineup over in the process to Moore.

The junior had already hit for the cycle after destroying a 440-foot homer to center. He flirted with doing it again on a 2-1 pitch before reaching out to rope a double into the left-field corner. Burke strode to the plate with two on in an 11-9 game and had lofty dreams.

“I thought I was going to Drew Gilbert that at-bat,” Burke said. “I got down two strikes and I wiped that mindset and I just battled. I was working for my guys.”

Burke, whose 2-2 check swing went in UT’s favor, plastered a single to centerfield to score two. He spun to his teammates in a frenzy with the game tied.

Tennessee baseball’s ‘masterpiece’ completed by Dylan Dreiling

The realization hit Vitello pregame Friday. 

Tennessee, which has a wild recent history of incredible late-game moments, didn’t have a walk-off win this season.

“Win — that kind of was the only thing going through our minds in the ninth inning,” Tears said.

Billy Amick singled to bring FSU coach Link Jarrett out to make a pitching change. He opted for Hults. Vols associate head coach Josh Elander showed the hitters the scouting report that noted Hults’ curveball commitment. 

DYLAN: The summer that set Dylan Dreiling on path as Tennessee baseball’s quiet superstar

Tears took off his helmet in the dugout when Dreiling went up. He knew the game was over. Dreiling watched an inside curveball, then scalded the next offering over the FSU outfield into the gap. He watched Seminoles center fielder DeAmez Ross track the ball, but knew he wasn’t going to get it.

Dreiling shed his helmet before he reached first base. Burke did likewise as he crossed the plate as the winning run. Amick jumped for joy on the basepaths. 

“It was kind of a masterpiece,” Moore said. “It was beautiful baseball right there.”

Dreiling bounded for the outfield, where his teammates chased him down and ripped off his jersey. Moore embraced him with Tennessee (56-12) advancing to play North Carolina (48-14) on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN). Outfielder Hunter Ensley picked Dreiling up. 

“When you trust the eight or nine guys out there with you, you can do stuff like that — what we just did,” Moore said. “It is an insane thing but it is kind of the beauty of it.”

Vitello scooped up Dreiling’s bat after the game. He kissed it, thankful for the magic of the moment.  

All it took was one pitch — and that pitch was a curveball.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.