Score: [4] VCU 5, [2] No. 23 Tennessee 4
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C. (Boshamer Stadium)
Records: VCU 38-24 (20-10 A-10), Tennessee 38-22 (15-15 SEC)
 
VCU baseball was led by Eli Holbert's masterful performance on the mound, retiring 10 Volunteers by strikeout across six innings of work to advance from the elimination bracket. Holbert allowed just three runs, holding onto the Rams' first lead of the NCAA Regional before Zach Peters slammed the door on VCU's second top-25 win of the year, 5-4.
 
LEADING OFF:

• The Rams earned their fourth-straight victory in a game facing elimination and their first win in an NCAA Regional elimination game since the Regional Final in 2015
• Holbert struck out 10 Volunteers, the most strikeouts by a Ram in a game this year, earning the win to advance to 4-1 on the season
• With three innings in relief, Peters earned his seventh save, allowing just four baserunners and one run with a trio of strikeouts
• Nate Kirkpatrick was hit by the Rams' 119^th pitch, just one shy of tying the program single-season record
• With his 23^rd double of the season, Nick Flores tied for eighth in VCU single-season doubles
• VCU defeated Tennessee for the first time ever, taking down its second nationally-ranked opponent of the season
• Head Coach Sean Thompson earned his first NCAA Tournament win as coach of the Rams

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Holbert was as resilient as any Ram this postseason to open the game, working out of jams to go scoreless through the first two frames and stranding five baserunners in the process
• With a two-run Reese Chapman home run, the Volunteers scored first, but VCU had an immediate answer in the bottom of the frame with a home run of their own as Trent Adelman chipped into the UT lead, 2-1
• In the bottom of the fourth with no outs, Tegan Kuhns balked two runners into scoring position and Maher drove in the tying Ram on a groundout, 2-2
• Productive outs created the advantage for VCU as Alec Warden followed with the go-ahead RBI on a sacrifice fly, before Kirkpatrick's two-strike, two-run double extended VCU's lead to 5-2 in the fifth inning
• Over the next three frames, Holbert allowed just two more hits and one run, which scored on the Volunteers' second big fly for a 5-3 ballgame through six innings
• In the eighth inning, UT scratched the game's final run across on a sacrifice fly, but Peters slammed the door shut on VCU's first NCAA Regional victory since 2024 with a scoreless ninth inning

 
UP NEXT
VCU will play East Carolina  at 12 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, May 31 as they look to stave off elimination once again and advance to take on No. 4 North Carolina in the regional final. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. More information on the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional can be found at the Regional Central page.