Tennessee baseball dominated instate foe ETSU 16-0 in a seven-inning run rule victory on Wednesday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Following the game, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello discussed the big offensive performance, mixing up the batting lineup and much more.
Here’s everything Vitello said.
More From RTI: What To Know About Tennessee Baseball’s Win Over ETSU
On Matthew Dallas and Dylan Loy’s performances
“[Dylan] Loy is the one that really sticks out. It’s because it’s his first outing, and you’re anxious to get these guys their first crack at it. For a lot of guys, any year, any situation, it would be nice if we could change this redshirt rule for these guys. It’s so different from football. Guys should have the opportunity to go out there and get a little bit of action, then if it looks like it’s not going to be worth their eligibility for some reason, cut back. It’s a stressful moment any time you let a guy make his first appearance. But Loy looked like he belonged for a long, long time for us. He did very well. And then [Matthew] Dallas kind of picked up where he left off. He didn’t let the moment get too big for him in Globe Life [Field] when it was a very big moment. And he kind of kept this deal simple. He looked like he did every day that he is out there. Real solid, real consistent. Obviously has a high ceiling and a lot of projection. But for this particular day, he did what we needed him to do. He got us close to the middle of the game with an opportunity to win.”
On the entire pitching staff only giving up one combined hit
“I think a little bit of that goes to the position players. It makes it tougher on the other team, and it makes it easier on the pitcher when they’re given a little bit of leeway. Now, some of those guys like [Austin] Hunley threw the ball in outstanding fashion last night in a tight game. You’d like to be able to pitch it well on any occasion, but I think the offense really did a nice job of grinding out some at-bats. We faced a very difficult pitcher the first few innings and honestly got a few breaks to go our way, but at least we capitalized on them. Then overall, the pitchers are anxious to get out there and show what they can do. I think they sense the deal we got going. There are a couple of guys that undoubtedly are going to get the ball with the game on the line out of the bullpen. And then Russ (AJ Russell) and [Drew] Beam are going to flip back and forth or do whatever they got to do two days a weekend for us, but there are a lot of innings up for grabs, and I think that’s making these guys hungry as they sense it a little bit.”
On Tennessee having a casual batting approach against UNC-Asheville, what was different against ETSU
“It carried over into the batter’s box but I think it was the whole team and then they flipped that this afternoon. A little birdy told me that the team was a little more focused than they were yesterday and you could kind of see that in here (the batting cages) warming up before the game and their dugout is connecting to the coach’s locker room so you can hear some things that way too. I think our best asset today or our best player, in a weird way, was UNC-Asheville. They played so well against us last night that it woke our guys up a little bit. Again, credit to them because they played well but we didn’t show up with the intent we needed at the ballpark and I think that led to a better performance or just a better approach today and fortunately the results followed.”
On if he could have envisioned a better debut for shortstop Dean Curley
“I think everybody expected good things. I think the better debut is if it would have come earlier. But we wanted to be conservative with that hamstring but, yeah, pretty good debut. Results aren’t always reflective of the work that’s been put in or the talent that’s there or another kid that I would consider a very high character kid from a great family but it was pretty cool that it worked out the way it did and it’s one more thing that gives our club confidence now that he’s back in the deal and of course have another one or two we’re waiting to add to the mix. And I mentioned it last night but the year will go on and somebody will stub their toe or turn their ankle. So everybody needs to stay sharp and ready to capitalize on their opportunities.”
On what went into the lineup changes, Christian Moore leading off and Dylan Dreiling in the eight-hole
“I think a little bit of it was a carry over from yesterday, shake things up a little bit and bring a new mentality and a new vibe to the ballpark. Part of it was Dean was going to play. Talk to CMo before the game and he has truly developed into a junior leader on the team and part of that is he has an unselfish approach of where he is in the lineup or where he is in the field. I don’t think you give a lot of guys freedom but some of the pitchers, like last year I had conversations with guys, like, ‘we’re going to move you to this day on the weekend’ and ‘no. I don’t want to do that.’ We’ll work with you if you have some stock in the company so to speak but just in general tried to mix it up a little bit and wanted to find a way to score early against a lefty because what we saw on video is that he has a pretty good arm and we knew they’d have some other good arms to throw at us. So we wanted to score early. That was another approach with the lineup.”
On Colby Backus
“He’s really worked hard at the mental side of it. Never any issues or lack of routines. Certainly there’s been a work ethic there. You see how physical he is. Last year, he and the coaches had a conversation and we were like, ‘you go the skillset and physique to play in this conference no doubt – but the league will beat you up and the competition will beat you up if you let it.’ You’ve got to learn form the negatives and learn from the positives but overall, you kind of have to work this thing kind of like how it’s going to work for you. I think [Matthew] Dallas and [Austin] Hunley – I think they are kind of cheating a little bit. It comes natural to them to slow the game down and kind of have a good mindset. It doesn’t come that way to everybody. And you can ask [Blake] Burke and CMO [Christian Moore] – they are two of our junior leaders. They are completely different in a lot of ways they were as freshman and one of them is I think they have gained strength in the mental game or in their mentality.”
On a game three starter this weekend against Albany
“No, we don’t. We will kind of do the same thing. It will be [AJ] Russell on Friday and [Drew] Beam will be ready for Saturday. Fortunately, the way these guys threw the ball the last two days, they actually changed out plans and made us more fresh going into the weekend. So, there will be more options out of the bullpen and therefor, will be a carryover for somebody to be more fresh and ready to go for Sunday.”
On Christian Moore and if it was a quick transition form him to become a leader
“No, that’s slow and it’s still a work in progress. I think his competitiveness and sometimes emotions will get to the point where he doesn’t lead the right way or will make a mistake, just like all of his teammates will. But I think if you look at the daily progress he’s made in a lot of different ways, baserunning and defense are two things that come to mind. But also, just looking for that edge to win and how to help teammates. Willingness, again, to put the team in front of himself. I think that part has improved. Kind of like anybody that gets in the batting cage with their swing, it’s never a finished product. That to me is exciting for whoever is going to get him next, you know, the next level. I think they are getting someone who is ready to contribute at a very high level right away but I don’t think he’s anywhere near being a finished product as a person, but also as a player.
