Tennessee baseball returning starters Zane Denton and Cal Stark are sidelined for the start of the Vols’ fall practice, head coach Tony Vitello announced Thursday.
Stark, who started 43 of 63 games at catcher last season including every postseason game, is working back from a hand injury that required offseason surgery.
“Cal (Stark) had an operation that a lot of guys have that are hitters with his hamming bone,” Vitello said. “So he’s out right now and rather than kind of sit on the sidelines and either feel sorry for himself or just be inactive, he’s almost kind of taken on the role of an extra coach and because of his experience, we’re good with that.
“And because he’s such a likable dude, his teammates are with it or are good with it. So that’s been pretty, pretty cool to see and is a good example of what I’m harping on with the environment we have over there.”
While Stark is the returning starting catcher, he’s facing an uphill battle to retain that role. Tennessee landed North Carolina State catcher Cannon Peebles out of the transfer portal this offseason. The switch hitter was one of the most sought after catchers in the portal after hitting .352 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 50 RBIs as a freshman last season.
Stark struggled at the plate last season hitting just .180 with five homers and 17 RBIs but was very solid as a defensive catcher. The catcher position requires multiple players earning playing time over the course of the season and Stark is poised to have an active role next spring.
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Denton is Tennessee’s returning starting third baseman after hitting .269 with 16 home runs and a team-high 59 RBIs a season ago. The Brentwood, Tennessee native decided to return to Knoxville for his super senior season instead of signing an undrafted free agent deal.
However, Denton is currently not with the team for the start of fall practice.
“The first couple scrimmages, I know he won’t be part of,” Vitello said of Denton. “He is handling some things that he has to. But again like last year, he has been able to manage a lot in his life on and off the field and done very well at it. I think the fact that he is in a supportive environment here has kind of helped him to progress in the way that he has.”
Denton was oft the hero in Tennessee’s road run to the College World Series last season. With Tennessee down to its final strike against Clemson, Denton roped a go-ahead three-run homer before the Vols outlasted the Tigers in a 14-inning thriller.
It wasn’t the third baseman’s last big at-bat of the postseason. Denton launched a three-run homer in game three of the Hattiesburg Super Regional, turning a one-run lead into a four-run lead.
“It was kind of add to the nice list of magical moments that we have had here,” Vitello said of Denton’s clutch home runs. “There is no way you can have those — you can’t coach them and you really can’t train for them in practice. The way they happen is when you have perseverance, which he certainly had throughout all of last year. … Our team really came close together at the end and he was a big part of that.”
Tennessee held its first official fall practice Thursday afternoon as they open a competitive fall. The Vols play two scrimmages, facing Virginia Tech in Greenville on Oct. 22 and Samford in Nashville on Nov. 5.
