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Tennessee eliminates Charlotte 49ers baseball from NCAA Tournament

Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel /Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Charlotte 49ers senior Austin Knight had a solo home run and sophomore Cam Fisher hit an RBI double but the 49ers were eliminated by Tennessee, 9-2, in the NCAA baseball tournament on Sunday night.

It was the second elimination game of the day for the 49ers, who lost their tournament opener to Tennessee before picking up wins against Lipscomb and host Clemson to earn another shot at the Volunteers.

Tennessee got on board first with a solo home run by sophomore Christian Moore. The advantage grew in the fourth inning as the Volunteers started to figure out the 49ers’ starting pitcher, Andrew Spolyar. After getting two runners on base, a couple of sacrifice flyouts and a solo home run, Tennessee had a 4-0 lead.

The 49ers wouldn’t go down without a fight, however. Charlotte’s senior infielder Austin Knight, a former Volunteer, hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning to make it 4-1. In the top of the sixth, 49ers sophomore outfielder Cam Fisher — who played high school baseball at Hardin Valley Academy, not far from Tennessee’s campus — hit an RBI double to make it 4-2.

In the bottom of the six, the Volunteers (41-19) got two more runners home to take a 6-2 advantage. Then, the 49ers got Will Butcher and Eli Weisner to second and third base, respectively, but left the two stranded. It was one of the more promising 49ers plate appearances Sunday evening.

Tennessee’s hitting onslaught continued late in the game, however, putting things out of reach for Charlotte (36-28).

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Charlotte baseball can thrive with its back against the wall. The Clemson Regional had a similar narrative to the Conference USA tournament. The 49ers had no room for error after dropping their first game in each event. In the NCAA regional, Charlotte eliminated the tournament’s No. 4 overall seed in Clemson, which matches the highest-seeded team the 49ers have defeated in an NCAA tournament.

The 49ers have a lot of solid talent coming in next season. Charlotte’s 2023 recruiting class features several players from the greater Charlotte area, including Jim Johnson (Myers Park), Sam Dansky (Providence), Jason Johnson (Gaston Day), Tanner Kaler (Northwest Cabarrus) and Wesley Jones (Charlotte Christian).