Tony Vitello proud of Tennessee’s ability to bounce back from adversity

On Saturday, Tennessee clinched a series win against Kentucky. As head coach Tony Vitello explained, a huge part of that win was the team’s ability to bounce back from adversity.

In that game on Saturday, Kentucky scored three runs in the sixth inning before adding another three in the seventh. That made it a one-run game before the Volunteers answered with two runs of their own and by shutting down the Wildcats.

“Yeah, it was huge and these guys got a little bit of a knack for whatever reason at responding or answering back when maybe things don’t go our way or the other team does damage,” Tony Vitello said. “And it’s a great attribute to have because you consistently feel like you’re moving forward regardless of what’s going on.”

Vitello went on to explain that Tennessee was able to fight through adversity, in large part, because of its team mentality.

“And I think part of it is the chicken and the egg thing. Part of it is the mentality we’ve had for the last few weeks has been more pushed forward, regardless of what it looks like because it’s always going to look dicey at times,” Vitello said.

“So, I think it was a byproduct of that and it goes without saying those two runs were great for Burnsey. I mean, you trust him in a one-run game, no doubt, but he and I will take as many as we can get.”

Tony Vitello on Tennessee’s depth

Recently, Tennessee has been playing incredibly well, and a lot of that is due to the team’s depth. As Tony Vitello explained, this has presented the team with a good problem going forward.

“It’s a challenge, but we weren’t saying that at the beginning of the year. In February and March, you guys probably thought I was crazy or would criticize the lineups when they wouldn’t work. And when they would, just go with that. And now, we have a good problem. We’ve got a bunch of guys that want to help us win and we’ve got a bunch of guys that can help us win. So, we’ll meet up there. We met in my office today. We’ll discuss what we think the plan is and go with it,” Vitello said.

“And we’ll see what the scoreboard says at the end of the day. But right now, it’s a fun group to be around and I know our coaches will prepare and I know our guys will compete. So, let’s roll with that.”