Southern Miss held on to win game one of the Hattiesburg Super Regional Sunday morning after Saturday’s rain delay before Tennessee scored eight unanswered runs to even the postseason series in the afternoon.
The Vols offense totaled more runs off Southern Miss ace Tanner Hall in the fourth inning than anyone had in a game all season while Chase Dollander overcame early struggles to dominate the Golden Eagles.
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello discussed the performance from Chase Dollander, the Vols’ resiliency and much more. Here’s everything the sixth-year head coach had to say.
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On Tennessee’s six-run fourth inning
“There was a lot of fight with the whole group and Cal Stark was kind of our leader. That was an incredible AB and he grinded it out. We didn’t have that stuff going on earlier in the year where we responded like that after a difficult inning, or picked each other up, whatever it might be. But as the season went on, we’ve come together. So, we look forward to it tomorrow and see if we can continue to do that.”
On what he saw from Chase Dollander
“We’d like to delete one pitch from that (third) inning, but otherwise, he was doing what he needed to do and was going up against good competition. They had a couple things work together for them, so it made for a difficult inning, but in terms of the rest of the game, it’s kind of been the theme. That’s why I think he’s going to be so good in pro ball. The reps add up in pro ball and as he kind of gets in a rhythm when he’s pitching for us, he’s been really good all year long.”
On Blake Burke’s two big hits
“He earned a Dairy Queen birthday cake. It’s his birthday and I stand by the thing we talked about in Knoxville. The position he’s in to hit kind of dictates the way it’s going to go. You can hit a ball hard and not get a hit out of it and you might foul a pitch off or whatever it might be. If you had a predictor on his at-bats, when he’s in a good position to hit, really good things happen. It’s a tough look for him there. Obviously a difficult pitcher to face but kind of like Cal, he got determined with two strikes and really got over his legs and it made the difference on that particular pitch.”
On Tennessee’s resiliency in the fourth inning
“I think you have to show, whether it’s runs or not. You have to show that you’re in the fight. This is an emotional deal for kids. We kind of act like kids too as coaches, so maybe we get too much leeway but I think you have to give everybody a bit of benefit of the doubt with their emotions. Whether it be in your dugout, the other or on the field because there’s so much going on. But if you get beat down, get beat down, get beat down it’s hard to have positive vibes or positive emotions so to respond in that way to a challenging inning where he (Dollander) gets a breather, first of all, but also just to show that we are truly in the fight is really important. The first game, we did that to start the day and (Justin) Storm was so good we couldn’t finish the job but that mentality and that approach made it a winning day for us.”
On corralling emotions after third inning
“It was probably me (being) out of control. I think Frank (Anderson) was more trying to angle and make points. He was doing a good job at keeping us at bay because (Tanner) Hall works so quick. We talked about it. He preys on frustration, and he does a lot to frustrate you because he is so good. One of those things is working really quick, and we had talked about making sure we take our time and take ownership of the box and be ready to go when you’re ready to go. That’s kind of how that flared up, but I think it was handled well, especially since we’re all fired up on our side. When you’re fighting for your season, whether it be one of the two teams here or anywhere across the country, there is going to be a lot of stuff going on. You saw that in our regional and you saw that here. Thankfully, it led to a good finish, but there were all kinds of ups and downs going on in that dugout.”
On if Zane Denton’s defensive play at third base in the third inning changed the game
“Yeah, it does. Now, to be honest with you, it’s difficult to have much feeling about anything. It was such a long day, and it was long night last night. Per the weather, we’re sitting around waiting, so it feels like it’s been a week-long deal, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You certainly want to be playing more than you want to be at home or not getting the opportunity to play. We’re grateful for that, but it’s been a long day. The vibe I got from our dugout, it was a quick, ‘Good job.’ Burnsy certainly finished the game with an exclamation, but it was a quick turn the page and keep coming together tomorrow.”
On if he saw anything different from Southern Miss today
“I have to be honest, we just walked past some of their players, and you have to say good job. I’m looking at the box score for something that stands out, but the first inning we got a good punch from them. At the same time, we could have made a play here or could have made a play there. I really didn’t see that huge of a difference. The scoreboard obviously dictates opinions of fans and media when you look at the stat sheet, but this is what it is supposed to be. It’s good competition. Last year, our team talked all the time about fierce and deep competition is what you want. It’s what Tom Brady, I believe, spoke on in one of his retirement deals. He’s still retired, right?”
On Blake Burke’s two-run home run
“They say in school – I didn’t pay attention that much – but every question is a good question. I think it’s kind of like a basketball game. Two points is two points. I’ve been buddies with basketball coaches and we have the best one ever at our place. Sometimes when you have an emphatic dunk, it can kind of shift the momentum a little bit. At times for us this year, he has hit them so long that it kind of changes the entire mood in the dugout and not just based off the scoreboard. Today, I think it was just to make sure we got something on the board. We knew we were facing that guy – everyone in the park knows that he’s one of the best guys because they have a lot of good pitchers – but you have your work cut out for you when facing that guy. You never know. It could turn into a frustrating day where you hit some balls hard like Hunter Ensley did early I the game. But you’d like something to show for it and he gave us something to show for it. It did have a little something extra to it, which is great. That’s something we haven’t seen out of him since Grand Canyon. If you’ve ever been to that school, he’s hitting them in the parking garage. So, he’s capable of doing that when he’s using his best swing.”
On Jared Dickey having clutch hits on a day he wasn’t great at the plate
“To not sound too corny, Jared Dickey is always at his best. We had an interesting beginning to our relationship with his time on campus, but ever since then – everyday – it’s been incredible to be around Jared Dickey. I’d say that whether he was sitting here or not. Maybe again, parallel to our team, in August we weren’t a fun team to be around. It was awkward. There was a lot of space between the players and the coaches, the players and the players and even the players and the mangers on a couple of occasions. Since then, we have been coming together. I think the cool thing about these guys is that it was an emotional win but a quick reflection on it and move forward to tomorrow. Give us another day so we can try to come together a little about more.”
