By Zach Thomas

OHAHA, NE – The Tennessee Volunteers overcame a ninth-inning effort by the Texas A&M Aggies in Game 3 of the Men’s College World Series to win 6-5 for the program’s first-ever national championship.

Murfreesboro-native, game two starting pitcher Drew Beam, who attended Blackman High School playing both baseball and football for the Blaze, was overcome with emotion after the Vols lifted the trophy:

Beam started on the mound for the Vols in the 4-1 Sunda victory that forced a winner take all game three. The righty threw for four innings and posted seven strikeouts, two walks, and three hits. Beam’s second batter faced, Jace LaViolette, posted the Aggies’ only run with a solo home run in the bottom of the first.

Beam expressed his gratification for Head Coach Tony Vitello, attributing his success to the coach’s leadership:

Beam posted an 8-1 record with a 0.15 ERA, 99 strikeouts, and 0.045 opponent batting average as a sophomore at Blackman in 2019, leading to his selection to the 2019 First Team All-Area and 2019 Class AAA District 7 Pitcher of the Year. He missed his junior and senior seasons due to COVID and injury respectively.

The Vol faced some in-house rivalry as his girlfriend, Halle Hutchins, is a student at A&M. Additionally, Hutchins works as a student assistant for the university in the baseball personnel department, and her father, Jason Hutchins, is the Director of Baseball Operations for the Aggies. 

She posted on Instagram, "It’s been fun wearing TN orange for @drewbeam_. SO proud of you and all that you have accomplished. She also said in another post, "Tennessee has been so lucky to have you, but so has this Aggie."

Beam, with the offseason ahead, hopes this national championship helped him leave his mark in Knoxville.

Beam posted on Instagram, "Thank you Vol nation for the past 3 years. I am forever grateful."