Tony Vitello says pitching depth can keep Tennessee in College World Series hunt

Monday, Tennessee baseball did something it hasn’t done since 2001. The Volunteers won a game in the College World Series, defeating Stanford 6-4 on the brink of elimination to set up another game Tuesday night.

If the Vols win against LSU — a rematch of Saturday’s game — they’ll play again Wednesday, meaning there’s a potential for four games in as many days this week. But Tennessee has one important weapon in its arsenal, according to head coach Tony Vitello: pitching depth.

With so many games in such a short window, having fresh arms is going to be key to making a run at national championship. Momentum is also important, which is why Vitello said his players didn’t want a day off after losing to LSU in the CWS opener.

But the pitching plan is also vital, and although the Vols pitchers might not have thrown the amount of innings they might have liked, Vitello pointed out that plan has kept them sharp enough for a stretch like the College World Series.

“I think now is an opportunity just to play,” Vitello said. “Like, yesterday’s off day was a little frustrating because we lost. We wanted to bounce back and play again. Well, be careful what you ask for because now it’s like Little League. You get your uni muddy, you just keep playing.

“Fortunately, we have the arms to keep going. We’ve kind of shortchanged some of those guys by taking them out of games early. But it might benefit us in the long run.”

Tony Vitello: ERA doesn’t tell the whole story with Tennessee’s pitching success

Tennessee entered the week ranked second in the country in ERA, only to No. 1 seed Wake Forest. But Vitello said that number doesn’t entirely capture what the Vols staff has accomplished this year. While no pitcher has jumped off the page and had a “career year,” they’ve all worked together as a unit to keep Tennessee in big games.

An example of that is the win over Stanford. Chase Dollander got the start and allowed four runs over three innings. Chase Burns came in to relieve him and threw six scoreless innings out of the bullpen as the Vols came back to get the win.

That’s why, as a group, Vitello said the Tennessee staff is special. It’s also why he gave a shoutout to pitching coach Frank Anderson.

“That doesn’t tell the whole story, that we’re necessarily better than whoever is third in the ERA,” Vitello said. “But it’s kudos to Coach Anderson, who I lean on a lot because we’ve had, again, a quirky start to our year. A lot of guys have not had career years or anything like that. And yet, as a group, if you combine it all together, it’s a pretty impressive number.”