Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with the local media on Friday night following the Vols 16-6 exhibition win over Western Kentucky in Nashville.
The Vols and Hilltoppers played 14 innings of action with Tennessee winning the first nine innings 8-4 and the next five innings 8-2.
Following the exhibition, Vitello discussed what he saw from pitcher Liam Doyle, a number of freshmen bats and much more. Here’s everything Vitello said.
More From RTI: Box Score and Play-By-Play From Tennessee Baseball’s Exhibition Win Over Western Kentucky
On what he learned about his team against Western Kentucky
“That’s interesting. I think there was just some information there with individual plays that was pretty valuable and some of them involved experience guys and some of them involved new guys. I think some guys were in the box fighting. I think maybe a little bit more toughness there then we were giving some guys credit for. Western Kentucky might say they didn’t throw as many strikes as they wanted to but I think a part of it was our guys battling at the plate. And then our pitchers too, they didn’t throw as many strikes as we wanted them to either. I think when you go from yout scrimmage umpires, with all due respect, it does have a little different flavor. Sometimes we’re the umpires to a game setting like this, the guys have to realize they’re going to have to hit their spot to get the strike.”
On his overall thoughts on the pitching
“It was good. It was good to see Nic Abraham’s presence to start the second game. I think, Sharman just walked by a little bit ago after he gave up a solo— which it felt like (we gave up) a handful of those. Started to throw the ball with a little bit more conviction and we were joking in the dugout and sometimes you like to see those guys coming out the gates throwing the way they would if they did get punched in the mouth. But for the most part, starting with Liam looking pretty good, the guys whole followed were in the vicinity of where they need to be. But the reason we play these games is to see what you need to iron out and like everyone else in the country, it’s early for us. There’s lots to iron out.”
On what they’ve liked about Liam Doyle, why he was the choice to start
“Part of it is what days guys are available, doing this deal where we are going to play two games — or our two dates, however they are going to term it — all in one weekend. He was available but also just kind of the attitude. We talked very briefly as a team. It is very late at night. We will revisit the whole weekend when we get back to Knoxville. The one thing that was pointed out was presence and self-belief carries a lot of weight. He definitely has that. We will see what others guys complement him, what his role is. He was a great choice to be the lead dog tonight.”
On his physicality, how it’s changed at Tennessee
“I think he has developed physically a little bit already. He is going to hit the most valuable part of the year where it is those two months November and December where you put the ball down and you almost training for a UFC fight or a boxing match. Hopefully, he can continue that area. Then pitching-wise, just as he would at any point going from freshman to sophomore to junior year, you start to get a little more picky or a little more specific with (what) you are working on. They have broken down some things that are pretty specific and have used the analytics and the technology and all that. I stay out of the way. It looked good to me for the most part after the first couple pitches. There he is. He is not shy. After the first couple pitches were out of the zone, he was locked in. He likes to compete.”
On Doyle throwing harder, his physical growth
“I think, if anything, the goal for us regardless of what his bullet would be, since he has been a sophomore in high school, there has been a good progression there of velocity. My own little deal is I would like to see him hold his velocity longer into games. Sometimes, because he is a strikeout pitcher, he got a little too high of a pitch count last year. But also he probably faded a little bit. I think he needs to be passionate about being as good as he can be physically. Not just throwing the baseball but also being as good as he can be with recovery and all the things that go into being a starting pitcher where you’ve got a week routine and it’s almost like you are preparing like a football team would. One crack at it on the weekend then back to it again.”
On what stood out about the freshman hitters
“Jay (Abernathy) has been good. He’s really athletic in the box and tried to show off the bunt skills a little bit. But he competed with two strikes and had a couple at-bats where he struck the ball early. Getting to the point that he’s a very well rounded hitter. He’s got some fight in him for a younger kid. He didn’t seem to be too worried about all the fans that were here or the fact that we were finally playing another team. The other guys too, Manny (Marin) has a chance to do just about anything you could come up with right now. But you guys saw that. He looked good and (Chris) Newstrom has a knack for finding the barrel too. Levi (Clark) would probably go back to the locker room saying either ‘thank goodness I got a hit’ or ‘I could do way better than that’ and both are true. So it’ll be fun to follow those guys and I’m leaving some guys out. You can call Stone (Lawless) a freshman but he acts and looks like a guy that’s an upperclassmen. When you play that many innings and it’s that late at night and you use that many guys, you can go on-and-on. Which I can do if you want. But I don’t think you guys want that.”
On Andrew Fischer’s first inning home run sparking the offense
“It was electric because of how far he hit it. What I saw, I just think it’s an interesting topic on the whole bat flip— I’m old school. I’m for just putting your head down and run or pitchers strike you out. But I think pitchers, I think things have swayed in their favor where they can do a little deal after they strike a guy out pretty often and without repercussion. The umpire did a good job tonight and he was right on top of Fisch. He didn’t want him doing anything crazy with the bat or anything. But I think Fisch just wanted to turn to the dugout and he was excited. Then he hustled down to first base and it definitely wasn’t a wall scraper. He got the crowd into it which I think we’ve kind of lived this deal a few times where it’s a neutral site, it’s not really a home game but it’s supposed to be a home game and all the Vol fans are here. I think the guys feel pressure to provide entertainment instead of just play ball. That’s kind of been the vibe I’ve had before. But tonight, the guys were pretty even killed and it was fortunate there were fireworks in the air in the first inning with Dean (Curley) and Liam throwing the ball the way he did and of course Fisch’s home run.”
On LHP Andrew Behnke’s performance against Western Kentucky and in fall practice up until this point
“Behnke, he’s been, you know, pretty good. I think, if anything, consistency would be something he’s hunting. I mean, that outing he had at the SEC tournament was in a category of, I don’t know how many, but if you had your favorite innings of the year in a box that would be there regardless of what pitcher. So can you replicate that, or at least be in the realm of that a consistent amount of time? So the fall, I would say the word consistency.”
On RHP Marcus Phillips’ performance against Western Kentucky and in fall practice up until this point
“Marcus has been good. You know, tonight just wasn’t a very good night for him, and at times the pace was a little slower for him and some of our other pitchers, and you can only guess, but you know, is there a little bit of extra thinking there? And you know, it’s almost impossible to get out there and not think about anything and just be in a zone, or whatever you want to call it, or be in a flow state and all that yoga stuff. But you can simplify your thoughts and think about the one task that’s in front of you. But (he) wasn’t the only case where I was just kind of wondering in the dugout, are the wheels spinning a little too much for somebody? So, you know, the thing about him is, you guys have seen how well he can throw the ball. He knows that. A guy that’s a true competitor, will be really anxious to get out there and kind of have an answer or response to that the next time he gets the ball.”
On how he felt about Alex Perry’s defense at first base
“Yeah, it was interesting because he’s been working so hard at picks and stretching, and on the one quirky play, to no fault of his own, he’s just trying. He didn’t need to stretch, and kind of miss that play. Well, later in the inning, he gets an opportunity to help (Dean Curley) out, and that was really an incredible catch, and then the pop up, which was fair or foul, it was interesting how it landed, but he’s pretty athletic. Most guys don’t get in a position to catch that ball, but he did not. So he’s progressing, and maybe needs to have a sit down with Todd Helton one of these days. Todd probably knows more than I do, but we’ve all just tried to work with him, and the attitude has been phenomenal. And he’s not the only one. And I think last year’s team in a weird way is leading this team too, because the blueprints there, and you got to kind of be able to work outside of your comfort zone. And some of those guys have done that. I think Manny took ground balls at second, short and third tonight, but he’s clearly a pretty dang good shortstop.
On what he thought of Andrew Fischer’s defense at third base
“That one inning where he made two plays was outstanding. Speaking about outstanding, our home plate umpire in the first inning, got from home to third to make a call quicker than any umpire I’ve ever seen. But there were two plays in one inning that were not easy. And not only did he make him, but he kind of made it look like a pro making them. So I think he had like a two-day patch, where it wasn’t great over there, but every other day has been really encouraging.
“It’s been fun to watch that position at Tennessee. It’s been interesting. With all due respect, we struggled to find — usually something good is not coming right after that, I guess. So scratch the with all due respect. We just were fighting to find the best third baseman for us the first year of our tenure here, and then after that, it’s been one dude after another that’s been pretty fun to be around and pretty fun to watch.”
On the performance of catchers Cannon Peebles and Stone Lawless
“Yeah, Cannon had his work cut out for him tonight. I think both staffs didn’t throw as many strike as they’re capable of. He had a lot of balls to block, and he wants to win so bad, he’s probably exerting more calories than the average Joe anyway.
“And then Stone (Lawless) again, he doesn’t really act like a guy that’s his age. I mean, whether it’s off the field or on the field, he’s certainly a fun guy, but he’s really mature physically and also mentally, and we got a lot of trust in him back there, but right now, Peebles has done so well. It’s interesting being in this park, because he tore it up last year with the bat, kind of refresh the memory. We inherited a guy that’s a very good player, and he’s slowly making progress every day in a bunch of different areas. So it’s fun to be around.”
On what he likes about Fischer and Dean Curley potentially hit back-to-back in the lineup
“That was kind of made up spur of the moment when we mapped out the pitchers more than anything. And then you get going there, and in an ideal world, we had a plan with (Hunter) Ensley, but that first game was really competitive, so just kind of threw it out there, and you got two pretty physical guys that if you’re in the other dugout, you got to scheme for it, and it’s a headache to deal with.
“And tonight, fortunately, we had Ensley, who’s like a cockroach. It’s impossible to get rid of them. If you’re working for Tennessee, it’s definitely impossible to get rid of him. And then you probably got that vibe in the other dugout, too. But I think Gavin (Kilen) was after those guys tonight, or Peebles and Gavin. I mean, that’s some firepower right there, too. So I think regardless of where we put guys, there’s some good firepower, but there’s some other guys that need to recognize there’s some spaces available too, around those guys.”
On the pitching plan for Sunday, who will start
“Probably (Nate) Snead. Haven’t talked to those guys but the cool thing is that Tegan (Kuhns) is a kid that turned down good money (in the MLB Draft) like a lot of these kids in the locker room and (Brandon) Ardividson also. I think draft got really hairy. Ask both those guys, do you care when you throw the ball? They both said whenever you think is best. Which is, I don’t think they realize what that means in this day and age. It’s refreshing and a stress reliever. I’d like to win the first game. And we know the coaches at Troy and we also know that that program is up and coming including their facility. They’re going to want to win too. Like to put those guys in the best spot for us to win the game, not necessarily the best spot for them. Because they’re good enough and confident enough that it shouldn’t matter.”
