Mike WilsonKnoxville News Sentinel
OMAHA, Neb. — AJ Russell smirked and shook his head.
The Tennessee baseball pitcher walked off the field in awe of Dylan Dreiling again. Russell is hardly alone. It’s a state that is enveloping all comers at Charles Schwab Field during the Vols' crusade through the College World Series.
If it hasn’t caught you yet, you’re not paying attention.
“If you have been watching Tennessee baseball, you know Dylan Dreiling is pretty clutch,” Vols second baseman Christian Moore said.
Dreiling, the soft-spoken, hard-swinging outfielder, is crafting a legend in Omaha. His latest installment of heroism ensured Tennessee’s season didn’t end Sunday and is giving the Vols (59-13) a shot at the program’s first national title. He bashed a two-run homer that crashed into the railing over the Tennessee bullpen in right field, propelling the Vols toward a 4-1 win and forcing a Game 3 on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) against Texas A&M (53-14).
This is what Dreiling does.
What makes Dylan Dreiling a lethal presence in the Tennessee baseball lineup
Dreiling greeted Vols hitting coach and third-base coach Josh Elander as he rounded the bases Sunday.
All he did was grin.
“He is just a pro,” Elander said. “He is always under control. It is nothing crazy flashy one way or the other.”
The former is how Dreiling excels. The latter is how he often flies under the radar.He is a professional hitter who shows up and produces.
It starts with an unflappable demeanor, which is why he readily rises in the biggest moments. That presence dates back to his high school career in Hays, Kansas. He played for the Hays Larks, a collegiate summer team managed by his grandfather, Frank Leo. He did that instead of typical summer ball games, surrounding himself from an early age with mature players.
That is the foundation of what Elander labels “a pretty special makeup.”
“He just wants to play ball,” Elander said. "I think that is why he is going to play for a long time. He is more of a pro now than I think a lot of our guys have been.”
Dreiling pairs his settled attitude with insane hitting skills. The draft-eligible sophom*ore is a master of the strike zone whose analytics and metrics are off the charts, Elander said. He is strong and selective at the plate while making constant hard contact, a dangerous combination for any pitcher to grapple with during an at-bat.
Sunday’s homer was his 22nd of the season, tied for the fourth-most in Tennessee history.
“It is real juice,” Elander said. “He can get you.”
How Dylan Dreiling is becoming a College World Series legend
Dreiling opened a water bottle and beamed at catcher Cal Stark during a postgame interview Sunday before Stark gave his opinion on why Dreiling came through again.
"I think his heart just kind of stays calm, his mind stays calm,” Stark said. “I feel like he's kind of built for those moments.”
Dreiling has shown it often in his career. He smashed a pinch-hit, two-out, two-strike homer against Vanderbilt in a game that flipped UT’s 2023 season. He hit late homers against Georgia and Queens this season and had a mammoth hit against LSU in April.
He is hitting .422 with five homers, 12 RBIs and 14 runs in the NCAA Tournament.
Dreiling dialed it up in Omaha. He walked off Florida State in UT’s opener with a single to cap a four-run ninth inning. That was his first four-hit day in the College World Series. The second was Saturday in the opener of the final against Texas A&M. He didn’t have a four-hit game in 67 games before the CWS.
He is hitting .500 in Tennessee’s five games in the CWS with two homers and eight RBIs. He hasn’t been held hitless, but was until the seventh inning Sunday. He stepped in with Moore on second and with the tip that Texas A&M reliever Kaiden Wilson had a rising fastball.
The Vols were confident as always in Dreiling.
“I think you are just going to get a quality at-bat,” Elander said. “That is what we are looking for. He has been able to hit some big ones. We want quality there and he is going to give it to us.”
MAKEUP: The summer that set Dylan Dreiling on path as Tennessee baseball’s quiet superstar
Dreiling focused on keeping his heart rate low and to get a ball down in the zone. He crushed a 1-1 pitch, unleashing all of his power and a brief batch of emotion.
“It was a sweet swing,” Moore said. “It was beautiful.”
Dreiling glanced to Stark earlier in postgame interviews Sunday and expressed he had given a “pretty good” answer.
“You could run for office,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said.
If Dreiling does it again Monday, it won’t be a quip anymore.
Mike Wilsoncovers University of Tennessee athletics.Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.comand follow him on Twitter@ByMikeWilson.If you enjoy Mike’s coverage,consider adigital subscriptionthat will allow you access to all of it.
