Zander Sechrist was destined to pitch in Omaha. He got Tennessee baseball to College World Series

Zander Sechrist took the mound at a showcase in summer 2018.

The Tennessee baseball staff — a contingent of first-year coach Tony Vitello, pitching coach Frank Anderson and hitting coach Josh Elander — picked a spot in the stands at LakePoint Sports Complex in Cartersville, Georgia. They watched the way Sechrist competed. They observed how the ball left his hand.

There was no doubt.

“We said, 'That kid is going to pitch in Omaha,’ ” Vitello said Sunday.

Tennessee hadn’t yet been to the College World Series under Vitello. It is going for the third time in four years thanks to Sechrist, who hurled the start of his career in the biggest game he has ever seen Sunday.

The senior pitcher threw a career-high 6⅓ innings to vault the No. 1 Vols (55-12) back to Omaha with a 12-1 win against Evansville (39-26) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Why Zander Sechrist delivered in the biggest game of Tennessee’s season

The Vols joked Sunday morning over a breakfast from Holly’s Gourmet Market.

If Game 3 of the Knoxville Super Regional was played at Neyland Stadium, how many fans would show up? The answers ranged from 20,000 to a sellout crowd. The latter would be understandable because it was the most pivotal game in Vitello’s tenure.

Sechrist didn’t blink at the stakes. His person is as much a reason as his pitching for his sensational Sunday.

"It felt like a packed-out Tuesday to be honest because I have pitched Tuesdays,” Sechrist said in reference to being a midweek starter for two seasons.

Tennessee was either going to be a No. 1 national seed that lost in the super regionals twice in three seasons or a three-time Omaha team in four seasons. That couldn't knock Sechrist off-kilter. He played "Clash of Clans" on his phone during a one-hour rain delay. He took his cleats off and acted like a real-life "Subway Surfers" player.

Sechrist put them back on, then dazzled. He bewitched Evansville’s impressive lineup with breaking balls, sending a batter spinning at a 68 mph curveball. He spotted fastballs. He struck out six and didn’t allow an earned run on six hits and walked none.

He was at his best in a tipping-point fourth inning in a 5-1 game. He got a bases-loaded groundout to end the inning, crouching into a frenetic celebration before launching his gum and dropping his glove.

“Putting a zero up on the board is something that a pitcher would like,” he said.

Pitcher AJ Russell and outfielder Hunter Ensley remarked after Sechrist’s start that he might be too goofy to have recognized what he had done.  Maybe that was the case. Maybe that's exactly why he was perfectly prepared to deliver. He could be fiery without losing himself in the moment.

What makes Zander Sechrist pitching Tennessee to Omaha special

Sechrist motioned to the Tennessee dugout after getting the first out of the seventh inning Sunday. He was ready.

“This is home,” Vitello said. “That is what he wanted to do . . . He has earned the right to do a lot and ask for a lot and have it be given to him.”

Catcher Cal Stark and second baseman Christian Moore waved for applause for Sechrist as he exited for the final time at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Sechrist motioned to the crowd and tapped the Vols logo across his chest on his way to the dugout.

Sechrist earned the moment through two years of midweek starts before working his way into a weekend opener role. He has three starts of at least six innings in his past four. Tennessee won the SEC regular-season title, the SEC Tournament semifinals and the Knoxville Super Regional in those starts.

He had gone six innings once in his career before that stretch — once in 36 starts. That was against Georgia in March, a start Anderson referenced Sunday as being “up there" with what Sechrist did against Evansville.

This was better.

“This is a lot bigger stage than that,” Anderson said. "This is by far the biggest one, especially after (Saturday’s) game.”

Tennessee led 12-1 by the time Sechrist departed with an Omaha berth well in-hand.

There was no doubt.

The way Vitello recalled it Sunday, Sechrist had made Tennessee wait a while before he committed. Now, Sechrist has had to wait a while to make good on Vitello’s belief that he would one day pitch in Omaha after not pitching there in 2021 on 2023.

He has proved himself all along the way, becoming the person and pitcher that had Vitello sure of who Sechrist could be.

“I’ll win or lose with that guy anytime — on the field or off the field,” Vitello said.

He won on it Sunday.`

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Zander Sechrist's biggest game got Tennessee baseball to CWS