Vols beat Charlotte, advance to NCAA Super Regional

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Tennessee beat Charlotte, 9-2, in the Regional Championship and advance to their third-straight NCAA Super Regional.

This is a breaking news update. Previous coverage is below.

Tennessee’s 14 inning 6-5 win over Clemson to advance to the regional finals will go down as one of the all time greats!

The Vols plated the go-ahead run on a Hunter Ensley double to the wall, five innings after the game should have been over. From there, Seth Halvorsen was able to slam the door shut and Tennessee’s marathon regional game with Clemson was finally won at 6-5 in 14 frames.

With the victory, Tennessee (40-19) advances on to the Clemson Regional championship and will await the winner of Sunday’s elimination game between (1) Clemson and (3) Charlotte, who play at noon. The Vols can punch their Super Regional ticket with a victory tomorrow night. If they lose, they can still win the regional on Monday.

Zane Denton’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning briefly gave the Vols a one-run lead before Clemson (44-18) tied it up in the bottom of the ninth. From there, zeros spanned the scoreboard until the 14th when Ensley’s double brought home Maui Ahuna who reached first via a walk.

Seth Halvorsen (3-3) picked up the win in relief after tossing the final 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball for the Vols. Casey talent (1-1) is charged with the loss, surrendering the go-ahead runner in the top of the 14th.

Charlotte took out Clemson and will face Tennessee again at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. That game is only streaming online on ESPN+.

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