Talk about your premonitions.
When longtime friends Zander Sechrist and Andrew Armstrong walked off the diamond in 2020 for the last time as Flowery Branch seniors and teammates, they looked at each other and said, somewhat jokingly, “See you in Omaha!”
“We were just sitting around waiting, knowing that was going to be the last time we were going to play together for a while, if ever again, so we kind of talked about that and how cool it would be to see each other again (at the College World Series),” Sechrist said during a phone interview on Monday.
On Friday, that’s exactly where they’ll meet for the first time on a baseball field since March 13, 2020, at West Hall, the final game that year before the rest of that season was shut down due to COVID.
Tennessee and Florida State will open the 2024 College World Series in Omaha, Neb. -- first pitch is set for 2 p.m. Eastern time. Sechrist is now a senior pitcher at Tennessee, and Armstrong is a senior hurler at Florida State. Neither is expected to hit the mound on Friday, but you can be assured they will find each other.
“It was more of a wishful thinking kind of thing but it’s really cool to see this actually happen,” Armstrong said about that conversation during a call on Tuesday from Tallahassee. “We went to middle school together and lived on the same road. It will be awesome for sure to see him (in Omaha).”
“We were friends then, and we’re still friends now, and we talk to each other from time to time,” Sechrist said. “I’m sure we’ll figure out a way to talk before the game. It’s just so cool that we’ll both be (in Omaha) at the same time playing.”
When the matchup was announced on Sunday, the hope was the two friends and starting pitchers would face off to open the CWS. But Sechrist pitched the Vols’ Super Regional clincher over Evansville on Sunday and probably will not see his next start until Sunday or Tuesday. Armstrong did not pitch in the Seminoles’ Super Regional sweep of Connecticut but was expected to take the mound if a Game 3 was necessary on Sunday. He is not expected to start the opening game on Friday but said he will be available out of the bullpen.
Former Branch coach Joey Ray called this one of the more special moments for him in his career.
“I’ve had a few guys I coached make it to Omaha. I had one player, Dalton Ewing (Milton), win the title with Coastal Carolina (2016),” Ray said. “But I’ve never had two former players make the CWS in the same year on different teams. That’s pretty special.
“And those guys are such great kids and worked so hard to get where they are. I would just love to see both of them get an opportunity to pitch and showcase what they can do and perform at their best.”
While Sechrist and Armstrong both said they want to see each other do well, they will also be fighting to get into the championship series in two weeks. So, will there be any trash-talking beforehand?
“Maybe a little,” Armstrong said. “But Zander is such a nice guy, and it’s really hard to be mean to him. It’s hard to trash-talk him, but maybe I’ll get something mild in there.”
This will be Sechrist's third trip to the CWS with the Vols. However, he has yet to pitch in a game at Charles Schwab Field, and the Vols have yet to make it to the championship series. He also said that being the No. 1 overall seed means nothing.
“It just didn’t work out for me to get in a game the first two times to Omaha, but I feel pretty good that I’ll get at least one start this time,” Sechrist said. “It’s hard to win here. Every team is good. Seeding doesn’t matter at this point.
"The atmosphere is unbelievable. Omaha is crazy, and you just have to be ready for it. It’s really 50-50 every game.”
Armstrong will be making his first trip to Omaha.
“I think it’s going to be very cool to be in Omaha, and I’m definitely looking forward to the experience,” he said. “But in this format, every game is a toss-up. I’m just going to try and soak up as much as I can and be ready if they call on me.”
Their journeys to Omaha are similar.
Both saw very limited action as freshmen and then saw increased action over the past three seasons. As a junior, Armstrong led FSU with 32 appearances out of the bullpen, finishing 2-3 with two saves and a 4.19 ERA, the best on the team among players with more than five appearances. He struck out 57 batters in 58 innings. In 2024, he has eight starts in 22 appearances and is 5-0 with a 6.98 ERA in 32 1/3 innings.
Sechrist leads the mainline Tennessee starters (17 starts) in ERA at 3.26 over 66 1/3 innings on the season. He is third on the team with 66 strikeouts with just 14 walks, the lowest among the starting rotation.
Knowing they were going to meet and discuss current situations, both also reminisced about their days at Flowery Branch. The duo helped lead the Falcons to the Class 5A state semifinals in 2018 atop the Falcons' rotation, and that 2020 team was ranked nationally before the GHSA pulled the plug on the season.
“Both of those teams were tremendous,” Sechrist said. “The fun part for me was watching Andrew throw a game and then knowing I had to go out there and try to top him. We pushed each other to be better, and I think we’ve both had success in college because of that.”
“I think that first year was key for us,” Armstrong said. “We got a small taste of winning as freshmen, and we wanted to do even better, and that really motivated us individually and as a team to get better. Those were some great teams.
“Zander is really fun to watch, the way he mixes up pitches and stuff. It will definitely be cool if I get to watch him in Omaha.”
But does that mean either will offer up trade secrets of the other in the heat of battle?
“I may give some input if asked, but we have guys that do that for a living, so hopefully, they won’t need me to spill any secrets,” Sechrist joked. “But if it’s a close game and they have a guy on base, I’ll probably tell them about his pick-off move. He was deadly in high school with that. If he pitches, I hope he does well, and then we can score and win if he comes out of the game.”
“Maybe if it’s an elimination game or something,” Armstrong said about giving away anything on Sechrist. “But I don’t know if I’ll do too much on a scouting report. I want him to do well, but I want to win and get into the championship series.”
Ray said he’d be watching, and only watching if they get in a game in Omaha.
“I’m not going to be rooting for one over the other,” Ray said. “To me, just to see them there is special enough. They both loved the big moments when they were (at Branch), and I hope they both get a shot when it matters most.”
