Drew Beam reflects on his dominant performance in College World Series vs. UNC

Tennessee was able to stay undefeated in Omaha on Sunday, defeating North Carolina 6-1 in their second game of the College World Series as they keep proving why they entered the postseason as the nation’s top ranked team.

Junior right-handed pitcher Drew Beam extended his record to 9-2 on the season following a masterful performance on the mound against North Carolina. A performance he discussed after the game revealing what worked for him and catcher Cal Stark.

Try Fubo for FREE today and don’t miss any of the action!

“Yeah, felt really good early on,” Beam said. “Cal called a great game behind the plate, 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.”

Beam had a flawless performance through the first five innings of the game, striking out seven batters and allowing just one hit and zero runs. But he also got some assists from his defense around him that made several dazzling plays in the infield and outfield, including a tremendous catch by Hunter Ensley that sent him crashing into the centerfield wall.

“They put some good swings on balls, especially that ball to center field. Ensley made a really good catch. The defense played well behind me. That helped me out in some situations,” Beam explained.

There was a lengthy delay in the game heading into the bottom of the fifth inning due to an umpire change, which definitely served as a challenge for Beam as he tried to keep his arm warm. But at the top of the sixth inning, he gave up his run of the game off of a leadoff solo homer from Vance Honeycutt.

“And the time break was unfortunate, but it is just what happens. It’s baseball. There’s always something that’s going to happen,” Beam said. “I went down to the pen, I got loose, and just Vance made a really good swing on that pitch. Backed up a cutter and he made a good swing. Then coach made the call and Kirby got me out of it. I was happy that the guys behind me had my back.”

Kirby Connell and Nate Snead both pitched two innings apiece to close out the game, picking up where Beam left off as Tennessee cruised to another victory. As the Vols will now wait to face the winner of North Carolina and Florida State‘s Tuesday elimination game that begins at noon ET and airs on ESPN.