Tennessee Baseball head coach Tony Vitello met with the media following the Vols’ 23-1 run-rule win over Alabama A&M on Wednesday night to discuss catcher Charlie Taylor’s big performance and how the relief pitchers fared in the win.
Vitello gave Taylor his flowers for his five RBI, two HR night against the Bulldogs, and noted that the fans in Lindsey Nelson Stadium were probably more happy than anyone to see Taylor have success.
“Awesome for me but better for the fans,” Vitello said when sharing how it felt to watch Taylor’s big night. “He’s a fan favorite here, as much as anyone I’ve seen, and I like going to a lot of the sporting events. He’s got that vibe. And it helps when you’re playing in front of a good crowd.”
More From RTI: Charlie Taylor Has Career Night
Vitello also touched on what he’s seen from freshmen outfielders Dylan Dreiling and Reese Chapman. Chapman has seen a handful of at-bats so far to begin the season, and Dreiling earned his first career start on Wednesday night.
“Both are guys that need to play,” Vitello said. “They’re both guys, if we played our first 10 games, that kind of deserve four or five starts. Just throwing out random numbers. These are two guys that turned down money to come here, and coming from no money but also being in recruiting for a long time, I’ll forever be in debt and appreciate kids and families that say no to money up front… because they very easily have the talent to still be in Arizona right now still even though our team came back here, if that makes sense. Pretty flat swing Dylan put on that one today and smoked it, and it’s good for Reese to get the first one out of the way.”
Vitello also went on to mention the performances from Tennessee’s bullpen arms, notably Zach Joyce. Vitello said Joyce ‘makes me feel good in the dugout,’ as the Vols’ skipper has been impressed by the Knoxville native to begin the season.
Vitello’s entire postgame press conference video is below.
