University of Tennessee Athletics
1951 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
September 16, 2005 | Baseball
1951 |
| Players Ace Adams, OF Andy Anderson, C Bill Asbury, OF Watson Bell, SS Billy Joe Bowman, RHP Julian Dease, SS Billy Dodds, INF Jim Gillespie, INF Sid Hatfield, 1B/P B. B. Hopkins, 3B John Huffstetler, LHP/OF Billy Joe O'Kain, RHP Herky Payne, 2B Dale Powell, 1B Bert Rechichar, OF
Head Coach
Most Outstanding Player
CWS Results |
 Tennessee's Sid Hatfield was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1951 College World Series. |
Tennessee was led by pitcher/first baseman John Huffstetler. Huffstetler finished the regular season a perfect 8-0 and led the team with a .455 batting average.
The Vols first All-America selection in 1953, B. B. Hopkins, played the hot corner, at third.
As often times happens, it is not the stars that stand out during crunch time, but it is the unsung heroes of the season that step to the forefront. Such was the case with the Vols' backup utility man and pitcher Sid Hatfield, who proved to be the spark that guided UT to the championship game. Hatfield received the Most Outstanding Player Award after tossing the third shutout in College World Series history, a 2-0 victory over Springfield in the third round.
Hatfield added to his legacy by tossing eight innings of relief against Oklahoma in the championship game. He did, however, walk eight Sooners, which is the third most walks issued in a championship game.
Tennessee started on a down note as it dropped the first game to Utah, 7-1. The Vols were held to four hits as Hopkins drove in the only run. Huffstetler, who struck out eight in the complete game effort, suffered the loss while giving up just six hits.
The Vols gutted it out and won their next four games to reach the finals. UT used a three-run seventh inning to oust Princeton the next day with a hard-fought 3-2 decision. Billy Joe Bowman tossed a six-hitter and Hopkins once again led Tennessee with two hits.
After Hatfield's four-hit shutout of Springfield, the third in College World Series history, in which Bert Rechichar and Herky Payne had two hits apiece, Tennessee would win a doubleheader the next day to advance to the national championship game.
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In the first game, the Vols exacted revenge over Utah, 5-4. Bill O'Kain threw the fourth straight complete game for the Vols against the Utes, allowing just five hits. Hatfield came off the bench to collect two hits, joining Rechichar to pace the team.
In the second game, Tennessee rallied from a 6-2 deficit to post a 9-8 victory over the USC Trojans. The Vols tied the game 6-6 in the fourth, took a 9-6 lead in the sixth and withstood a two-run Trojan rally in the bottom of the frame to hold on for a 9-8 win. Despite collecting just five hits, Bill Asbury and relief pitcher Bowman drove in two runs each. Bowman got the win after tossing 7 2/3 innings of relief as Tennessee advanced to face the Oklahoma Sooners who swept their way to the finals.
Tennessee jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fifth, but let it slip away as the Sooners scored single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings for the 3-2 win. Asbury collected two of Tennessee's three hits, while Hatfield logged 8.0 innings of relief in taking the loss.
