Tennessee baseball vs Texas A&M prediction in 2024 College World Series: Who wins CWS Game 3?

OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee baseball is a win away from history.

No. 1 Tennessee (59-13) faces No. 3 Texas A&M (53-14) on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the final game of the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field. A win secures Tennessee’s first national title.

The Vols lost 9-5 in the opener Saturday then won the second game 4-1 on Sunday.

Here is what to know about the matchup:

Tennessee needs to be great in situational hitting

Dylan Dreiling and Cal Stark slammed two-run homers in Tennessee’s win Sunday. Those were the only two hits the Vols had with runners on.

UT was 2-for-19 with runners on in Game 2 after going 6-for-19 in Game 1. It also is a combined 3-for-21 with runners in scoring position in the two games.

Tennessee has to make the most of scoring opportunities in the final game.

Can Zander Sechrist do it again for Tennessee baseball?

Zander Sechrist has changed Tennessee’s season in the final month by emerging as a reliable and steady third starter. He has thrown four quality starts in his past five outings. He didn’t give up an earned run in 4⅔ innings in the only start that didn’t qualify as a quality start.

The senior has had the ball in important games in all of those, including to win an SEC regular-season title and the Knoxville Super Regional. He’s getting another shot to do it after cruising since mid-May.

DREILING: Dylan Dreiling is writing his Tennessee baseball legend in CWS. It’s no surprise.

Who will Texas A&M pitch?

Texas A&M likely will start lefty Justin Lamkin, who is 3-2 with a 5.00 ERA this season. The sophomore has thrown eight shutout innings in the College World Series with 15 strikeouts. He threw 70 pitches on Wednesday against Florida, which led to A&M holding him until Monday.

Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle indicated that relievers Josh Stewart and Evan Aschenbeck will be ready, having had a day off after pitching in Saturday’s Game 1. Aschenbeck is the Aggies’ top reliever. He has struck out seven in 2⅔ innings against the Vols.

Tennessee baseball vs Texas A&M prediction in 2024 CWS final

Tennessee 9, Texas A&M 6: Tennessee takes home its first national title and becomes the first SEC team to win 60 games in a season.

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