Tennessee baseball completed the weekend sweep of LSU on Sunday afternoon by knocking off the Tigers 8-4 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Following the win, Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello discussed Zander Sechrist outing, what he learned about his team this weekend and much more. Here’s everything Vitello said.
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On the pitching staff having a great weekend
“Combsy has kind of done it in two different ways both years, but I think he’s found some roadblocks or obstacles or things to figure out and has made adjustments. He’s got some savvy to him, he’s a hard worker, he’s extremely coachable, and he’s throwing the ball really well for us now, and everyone standing here, including him, knows that’s key for our team. And then there’s still a little bit of frustration from what else is down there (in the bullpen). I think Snead has done a good job for us. We kind of know what we got with [Chris] Stam(os). He’s an older guy, and he had to fight through some soreness, so I don’t think we got the real version of him until now. He’s gotten into a rhythm. Kirby [Connell] throws strikes. Cost of doing business when you got a lead, you definitely want strikes, and sometimes they hit it, sometimes they don’t. Especially when they’re one of the better guys in the country in Tommy White. As each week goes by, I think we’ve been feeling more comfortable about the guys we’ve been using. We’re eager to use a couple of guys that we haven’t. And then also, I think we will feel more comfortable about maybe who belongs where and how we can put these guys in a situation to succeed.”
On the overall personality of the team on the weekend
“Just keep pushing forward. Whatever cliche you want to tie to that. Guys just kept moving in the right direction because we never had a big fireworks display on offense. Defensively, I don’t think we played one game that was incredibly clean. Pitching at times, today, the one walk was huge, but it wasn’t the prettiest weekend, overall. So just keep pushing in the right direction. I think, too, there were a lot of guys that were just ready to play. My theme I said – to go on a tangent, I think it’s proper to share what we were talking about in the outfield with the guys – today was about guys being ready to go physically and mentally. And Combs was down there all weekend, and we made him wait until the very last go of it, and he was ready to rock n’ roll and throw his stuff up there and see what happens. It worked out well for him. And Bradke [Lohry], his at-bat allows a lot of different things to happen for our team. And if I’m Bradke, I transferred in from JuCo, I want to be out there every single day, but his approach and his bounce and his spirit when he’s in the cage before the game even though he’s not in the lineup is exactly what you’d want. And then when he gets out there, it’s No More Mr. Nice Guy. He competes. And then the more important or most important guy for me, just because it’s been 10 years since he’s been here, is Ethan Payne. If people at the game only understood how much time went into that bunt – not just executing it, but making it look easy – it would blow your mind. But he’s the very definition of what it takes to be a good baseball player. You have to do it day in and day out regardless of what the result is. And he’s going to have a special career in life when he’s done with our time here.”
On how much programs need guys like Ethan Payne
“I think in order to achieve what the program we just played achieved last year – guys like Cade Beloso and other guys like that – any winning team that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here, but I’m reflecting back on other ones, and then times two when it’s gone awry, you don’t have enough of those guys. I think you can always point to a figure that maybe you see is a good team guy or whatever it might be, but he’s a very unique one. And he’s huge. It was much younger in his career when we decided to either bring him on trips or activate him on the roster, because we thought he could help us a little bit on the field, but more so, he could help us in the dugout and the clubhouse. There’s so much free time to baseball, and what goes on during nine innings is the most important – don’t lose sight of that – but at the hotel, out to eat with the guys or parents, talking in the locker room, all those spots. It’s huge. And he’s an influencer – not Instagram in a bikini or anything like that – but he’s an influencer.”
On Tennessee playing small ball in the seventh inning
“I think it adds to what we need to be able to do in different environments. Eventually you win enough games to go to Hoover— that’s the most fun place to play in the world and in order to score down there sometime you have to be able to play small ball and then even in our park where people label it, I think unfairly, incredibly offensive— it depends on what day it is and who is pitching and other circumstances. The more ways you can find a way to win and the more ways you can find a way to score, the more complete your team is. Going back to the pitching thing, the more that we kind of have options down there in the bullpen as well— I think we’re still sorting through a lot of that and still building on top of what our foundation is which is a good group of guys that play hard and they certainly have team chemistry. Well that’s great, we’ve had all those things for a while now. We need to keep adding on attributes that will help us win.”
On what’s been different for Aaron Combs his last two outings
“I think pitching a little more instead of just throwing but, again, I kind of stay out of the master’s way, Coach Anderson, and I think Combs has been determined to first get out there. At first we labeled him a certain situation (guy) and it didn’t pop up that much so he really didn’t have an opportunity to get in that rhythm or get cozy out there. Hopefully the fact that he was able to throw today allows that. I kind of went on another tangent with John (Wilkerson) about how inclusive a weekend is or how all inclusive— not Cancun or Tulum or anything— but everything counts and (Nate) Snead got hot on Friday and came out like a madman yesterday. So there was only so much he had to offer us today and Combs doing what he did was enormous.”
On the importance of Zander Sechrist getting deeper into the game and building off his past starts
“I think it allows him to understand we believe in him. I think last weekend was one where, I think literally in the middle of the game I had to answer a question from a former coach that’s really smart that’s like ‘why did you take him out there?’ We just went with what we think. All these SEC teams have so much data and support staff and things like that and at the end of the day you go with your gut. But our gut tells us any time he’s out there we’re good with whatever happens. You could tell the vibe in the dugout— the guys love when he’s out there and the position players certainly love playing behind him too.”
On the confidence he has in LHP Andrew Behnke….
“A lot. I was joke and say more than I should because he and I kind of rob each other. I guess I rib him more than he can do back to me because he wants to get in the game. Any situation. There’s one moment this year that if I were to have any regrets at all, well I guess there are several regrets because anytime it doesn’t work when you make a move, you second guess yourself or wonder what you could have done different. I can think of a key moment where he would have been perfect for that situation and we didn’t use him. That’s my best way to describe it without BS’n you. He’s go great presence and he obviously has good stuff, too. He wants to be out there. It’s a resilient arm and we could have used him all three days. He wants to be out there too. It was not a friendly look he gave me when I told him we were going to make a change. But we went with what we originally planned to do and what we thought made sense.”
On the flexibility Zander Sechrist gives the bullpen…
“I think it leaves you less scrambling the other games. I think our fans are becoming some of the best fans in the country in baseball, but here are some newbies. You still got to realize what goes on in a series. It’s very difficult to win a series in general. It made me nervous as all hell our fans yelling sweep when the last hitter is still up. Tommy White is standing there waiting to do some damage. Everything affects everything and because you have a little bit of security there and you know he’s a guy who is going to throw strikes and compete – it changes the conversations in the office and certainly some planning as well – to our benefit.”
On the top-three guys in the order (Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Billy Amick)…
“I think together is the key word, the way they interact with each other. Obviously, CMO and Blake have a ton of history here together and with the program. I’ve said it too many times. Billy fits in, in an odd way so well and gets along with those two guys. They are doing it together. I think they realize how much we love having them, but how much a headache they are when the game starts and you see those three guys are going to kick it off. And KT [Kavares Tears] when he’s himself and not trying to do too much – he’s waiting in the wings as well. Those three guys are a headache for people and when you talk about the weekend, one thing we know is we got those three guys to kick start us anytime the game starts or the lineup turns around.”
On what he likes about his team midway through SEC play
“I think we are kind of adding different ways for the guys to help us in small ball. Who is the best situational guy to pinch run? I think Ariel [Antigua] now is obviously a defender that I think can impact the game in a big way. So, he’s been useful. I think some other guys have gotten past some early season trying to do too much or what is their role. There’s still stuff up for grabs. We are fighting to find our exact best nine guys, but it might change everyday depending on who is on the mound over there and how guys are feeling. Like it or not, things kind of come in cycles and guys to sometimes throw better as the season goes on. Or a guy may have a hiccup or give up a run or two. Really, I think it is a general theme of we having a lot of things we can pile on a strong foundation. I think the guys are willing and have the right attitude to move towards that.”
On the flexibility Zander Sechrist gives the bullpen
“I think it leaves you less scrambling the other games. I think our fans are becoming some of the best fans in the country in baseball, but here are some newbies. You still got to realize what goes on in a series. It’s very difficult to win a series in general. It made me nervous as all hell our fans yelling sweep when the last hitter is still up. Tommy White is standing there waiting to do some damage. Everything affects everything and because you have a little bit of security there and you know he’s a guy who is going to throw strikes and compete – it changes the conversations in the office and certainly some planning as well – to our benefit.”
On the top-three guys in the order (Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Billy Amick)
“I think together is the key word, the way they interact with each other. Obviously, CMO and Blake have a ton of history here together and with the program. I’ve said it too many times. Billy fits in, in an odd way so well and gets along with those two guys. They are doing it together. I think they realize how much we love having them, but how much a headache they are when the game starts and you see those three guys are going to kick it off. And KT [Kavares Tears] when he’s himself and not trying to do too much – he’s waiting in the wings as well. Those three guys are a headache for people and when you talk about the weekend, one thing we know is we got those three guys to kick start us anytime the game starts or the lineup turns around.”
On what he likes about his team midway through SEC play
“I think we are kind of adding different ways for the guys to help us in small ball. Who is the best situational guy to pinch run? I think Ariel [Antigua] now is obviously a defender that I think can impact the game in a big way. So, he’s been useful. I think some other guys have gotten past some early season trying to do too much or what is their role. There’s still stuff up for grabs. We are fighting to find our exact best nine guys, but it might change everyday depending on who is on the mound over there and how guys are feeling. Like it or not, things kind of come in cycles and guys to sometimes throw better as the season goes on. Or a guy may have a hiccup or give up a run or two. Really, I think it is a general theme of we having a lot of things we can pile on a strong foundation. I think the guys are willing and have the right attitude to move towards that.”
