Tony Vitello expresses confidence in Drew Beam as Tennessee faces elimination in CWS

The Tennessee Volunteers have their backs against the wall after losing the first game of the College World Series final against Texas A&M. Now, facing elimination, head coach Tony Vitello is expected to turn to Drew Beam on the mound.

Ahead of Game 2 of the CWS final, Vitello expressed his confidence in Beam, explaining that for as long as he’s been on the team he’s been confident in the young starting pitcher.

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“We like anytime he gets to throw for us,” Tony Vitello said. “It’s kind of been that way since his freshman year, and the fall was slower based off how he entered the program. He was recovering. And then hasn’t looked back. There’s been some ups and downs but it’s not like it’s been a roller coaster. He’s been a blessing to have in the program as far as the approach he brings to the dugout or just the facility, in general, in how he works.”

Drew Beam is in his third season at Tennessee. However, in his junior year, Beam has a higher ERA, at 4.30, than in both of his first two seasons in Knoxville. He’s done that after being a starting pitcher in all three seasons and throwing a career-high of 98.1 innings pitched in a season this year.

Still, Beam was good in his last outing against North Carolina, throwing five innings and only allowing one earned run while striking out seven.

“And usually when your leaders embody what you’ve got going on and it’s a positive — I didn’t say that appropriately — but when your leaders have the right characteristics, it usually bleeds into the rest of the team in the dugout,” Vitello said.

“And, again, he’s an unselfish kid that likes to compete. That, again, has bled throughout the rest of the dugout, especially with the younger guys that have learned from him like D-Loy.”

No matter how confident Tony Vitello is in Drew Beam, this is an elimination game. That means that every mistake counts and that Beam will likely be on a short leash in the game.

This comes after the Texas A&M bats were a major issue for the Tennessee pitching staff in Game 1. The Aggies won the game 9-5 and had put up seven runs by the time the third inning was over. Because of that, starting pitcher Chris Stamos only recorded a single out and threw 18 pitches. He would be replaced by AJ Causey, who pitched a team-high 3.2 innings and gave up five runs, four of which were earned.