The 2026 NCAA Tournament Chapel Hill Regional delivered a tightly contested elimination game on Tuesday, as VCU met Tennessee at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Tennessee drew first blood in the third inning when Reese Chapman launched a two-run home run, putting the Vols ahead 2-0 and energizing the home crowd.
Early Lead and Response
The Raiders answered quickly, with Trent Adelman’s solo homer in the same frame cutting the margin to one run.
VCU seized the lead later in the fourth, as Quinn Maher and Alec Warden contributed key hits that shifted momentum and gave the Raiders a 3-2 edge.
Key Inning and Pitching Duels
A decisive fifth inning saw Nate Kirkpatrick smash a two-run double, extending VCU’s advantage and setting the stage for a final showdown.
Stone Lawless kept Tennessee alive, hitting a solo homer in the sixth to make it 5-3, and later added an RBI sacrifice fly in the eighth to narrow the gap further.
On the mound, starter Tegan Kuhns delivered four solid innings, striking out six batters while throwing 70 pitches, 46 of them strikes, before being relieved by Brady Frederick, who logged 0.2 innings with one strikeout, and Mark Hindy, who contributed a 0.2‑inning stretch allowing just one hit and one walk.
Through a blend of timely hitting and gritty pitching, VCU held on for a 5-4 win, advancing deeper into the tournament.