Everything Tony Vitello said ahead of Knoxville Regional play this weekend

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with members of the media on Tuesday morning to preview the upcoming Knoxville Regional from Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

The Vols, who are the No. 14 national seed, kickoff regional play with Miami (OH), who is the fourth seed in the regional, on Friday evening at 6 o’clock ET. Wake Forest (2) and Cincinnati (3) play earlier in the day at 1 PM ET. The winners and losers square off on Saturday.

The following is video and a written transcript of the Tony Vitello pre-regional media session from Tuesday.  

If he plans on keeping Tennessee’s starting rotation the same as it’s been the most of the season, with Liam Doyle pitching Friday and Marcus Phillips pitching Saturday…

“Yeah, more than likely. We got some bullpens today, so we’ll see how those go and then have conversations. But that’s  kind of been the order that held true through the season until we had schedule quirks there with the Thursday series and the tournament. 

“So regardless of how we do it, we’re not looking to out-strategize anybody this time of year. Just out-compete people, or compete to the best of our abilities, and hopefully that gets us where we want, and if it doesn’t, maybe the fans give us an edge that pushes us over the top. Because that’s been the case a few times this time of year for us, when we’ve been fortunate enough to be in Knoxville.”

On being able to host a regional in Knoxville…

“I think that there are lots of bullet points you can list under, and maybe y’all have already done that on, you know, that it’s a good thing, or it’s an achievement (that) the guys were able to earn a regional. It’s very difficult to do, to quote a really smart baseball person I talked to yesterday, but the biggest thing is, we were 12 days on the road. So I think the guys needed to get back. We played a couple extra-inning games in there, for whatever reason. Weather is a part of it, but we’ve played long games this year, so it was a taxing trip. It was a valuable one for our guys, but it was important, I think, for us to be able to sleep in our own beds, recover, use our weight room. So that’s probably the biggest part of this weekend.”

On what he’s like about how his team has developed over the last couple of weeks…

“I think that they’ve kept pushing forward in the direction you want to. I mean, that’s vague, but there’s a lot of different categories to talk about individuals have gotten better at. Maybe we’ve (coaching staff) gotten better at learning our team, but the general direction, which is forward and in a positive way, in a way that shows improvement, whether it shows up to you all or ends up on the scoreboard being displayed or not, I don’t know, but just that overall vibe and push forward. Which has made it more enjoyable to come to work each day. It has been a good environment, in particular in pregame. The one thing they need to take responsibility for — I guess we do too — is as the game goes on with all these crazy ups and downs, and now we’ll be more chaotic than ever for not just us, but every program that’s still got the benefit of playing is, maintain that same sort of energy and outlook.”

On the benefits to keeping the pitching rotation the same heading into the postseason…

“I think just worrying about what’s in front of you is the biggest thing. What inning is in front of you, and a guy that I’ve got a lot of respect for, kind of an indirect way taught me you got to think about the one game that’s in front of you. Now in a tournament format, you can’t get blinded by the fact that there is a tomorrow and things like that. And that’s maybe benefited us too, like in last year’s final series we played and things like that. Fortunately, it worked out in our favor, but overall, we’re looking at the first inning against Miami of Ohio. There’s two other teams (Wake Forest and Cincinnati) that will be at our park. They’ll play before us, so it’s impossible to not recognize who they are. They’re both talented, but really it’s about the pregame and the first inning against Miami of Ohio.”

On what the knows about Miami of Ohio…

“It’s a very well-balanced team. The starting pitcher (Cooper Katskee) that we’ll see racked up 11 wins. I don’t care where you’re at, who you’re pitching against, there’s certainly credit due there. First-year coach (Brian Smiley) that has their guys playing the right way. His guys have always played well defensively, the teams he’s coached, but it’s not a team you could say, they’re great defensively, or it’s all about pitching, or they hit a bunch of homers or steal a bunch of bases. All it is, is one quick glance at their stat sheet and their season, they’ve been very well-balanced throughout the whole deal, and they had to win their tournament to get here. So they’re playing good baseball at the end of the year.”

If they’ve identified anything since returning home from the SEC Tournament about why Doyle’s outings haven’t been up to his usual standard his last two times out…

“Yeah, not in particular. I think we’ve summarized the year. It was a good one for him. He’s come a long way. Timing is interesting with this team, in particular on conversations, you know, as far as success and then where we’re at is what I’m alluding to. But overall, for him, I think we feel good that we didn’t kind of put him through a meat grinder, especially after what he did (pitching three times in one week against Auburn and Vanderbilt). His hand is fine. Gave up more hits than he would have liked probably two weeks ago, or two outings ago (vs. Arkansas), but he just faced the conference champs (Texas), and you know, it’s not like it was a terrible outing. It just wasn’t up to his standard. And also, we pulled him early because of what’s about to go on this weekend. 

“So I think overall, in a positive place. I don’t see any major concerns other than, yeah, like all of our players, he needs to be true to himself. I think arguably his best outing was when he was on his toes, going back to where he played last year (Ole Miss), and was focused on what he was trying to do, because he kind of knew the unique circumstances there. I think that’s what all of our guys need to do, is just be who they are.”

On saying at the SEC Tournament that freshman RHP Tegan Kuhns needs to throw his breaking ball with more conviction, how hard it is for a young player to find that conviction…

“I think for him, it’s — and I’m just going off observations and probably what his teammates would agree with. It’s not about attitude or competitiveness. He does not lack in that category at all. I think it’s about repetitions. And you’ve seen that with some of our other guys, whether it’s getting comfortable with a spot we’ve put them defensively, or a freshman getting comfortable with SEC play, or a pitcher just needing reps to find the best version of themselves. So I think it’s about reps, and then also just at this point in the year, you’re not going to go down there and reinvent a new pitch. It’s about just making a decision, this is what I’m going to do. And so to me, it’d be about that decision as much as anything.”

On if AJ Russell’s missing most of last season caused him to have a different outlook on this season…

“I think so. Anytime you lose something, you become more appreciative of it. And then the other thing is, I think you start to think your way through the game a little bit more like a coach when you’re forced to sit there and watch. Maybe you keep them sharp. And then the other thing is that is typical for most humans, the more you invest in something, the more important it is to you. And I think that climb back, and also some of the hardships that came before it – because there was kind of some confusion what was going on and it was a slow build, really, to what was an injury that was underlying there. I think on top of the appreciation, it’s a little bit more of ‘I want’ output equal to my input. Because it’s been a massive amount.”

On AJ Russell and Brandon Arvidson rounding into form and if that means they could start games….

“I think both those guys have shown they can go length. So, whether it’s start or the second inning or the ninth inning or it’s extra innings, this time of year, it doesn’t matter. Embrace the chaos. So, I think both are older guys who have done it. They’ve closed games. They’ve started games. They’ve done in between and they’ll probably be required to do something, if not them somebody else, probably be required to do something they haven’t normally done. And this time of year, you just take the ball and you try – and get again, to go back to what is kind of cliche, but it’s true – get the guy out in front of you. Then we’ll worry about what’s after that.”

On if he’d be surprised last year to know Andrew Fischer would go on to reach base safely in every game in 2025…

“I know being from the northeast, you’re in the cage a lot because it’s cold. So, there’s people that get credit before he even got into college, but I know he also had people at his previous two stops that affected his life and his ability to play. So, I don’t think you want to act like we just waved a magic wand over him and all of a sudden he became this complete hitter. But I think he’s been helped by his support staff here. Most importantly, we talked about a decision with Tegan [Kuhns]. He’s made the decision to be better with two strikes, better in the zone, maybe be able to adjust his swing a little bit to get to a certain type of pitch. This weekend, we saw a huge variety of guys who have different strengths as pitchers. So, a credit to people that have been in with him in the cage, whether it’s this year or 10 years ago, but a massive amount of credit to him for making that decision to adjust and become more of a complete hitter and kind of make it more about the team offense, as opposed to, hey, he can hit it 450 feet. I don’t know what that feels like. I wish I did and it’s probably a feeling that kids who can do it want it all the time. So, to kind of put that on reserve for the betterment of the team is something that’s a statement to his character, to be honest with you.”

On the strategy of making pitching plans for a regional setup, knowing there’s versatility in guys like AJ Russell and Brandon Arvidson…

“We’re not immune from the same thing the players are dealing with. I don’t think we have ‘one shining moment.’ That’s at the end of the tournament. Whatever is at the beginning of the tournament, I mean, March Madness is maybe the biggest money maker there is. So, I got to believe there’s a bunch of TV promos and things that get you all juiced up. But my point is, it’s dangerous for us and the players to overthink things, or again, to over strategize. Or to think you got to change who you are because there’s a new label to this game, or there’s a blue circle on the outfield wall. Now, I think you just kind of roll with whatever you think is going to help you win the game. And again, that’s us, and the players included, and you will not be – I don’t care whether it’s – Pat Casey [former Oregon State coach] is a legend and they went back-to-back National Championships where he’s at. Somewhere along both of those and he probably can remember them, there was mistakes that either the players made or the coaches. Those will happen. You need to continue forward, kind of like our team has done this year. Keep pushing forward and just do what you think is going to going to help you win.”

On pushing past mistakes this time of year…

“Part of what is at the underlying root of the word confidence, is it probably means you’ve had success in that category before. So you reflect on history or you got, you know, kind of a little imaginary notebook of things you’ve done or seen, same thing. Look back no further than the SEC Tournament. Plenty of mistakes to learn from. So you either win or you learn. Our last game, hopefully there’s a lot to learn from there. We’ll talk about it a little bit today. It’s been light since then, and then the previous two games is, we made some big mistakes in that Alabama game, but it was, let’s just keep playing. And then we were down in the Texas game and staring down the best bullpen, and one of the best one-two punches in the country out of the bullpen, and the guys were able to adapt and find a way to get a W there. So that persistence in that game, that composure in the first game, and then the flaws that we’re all flawed, of course our team is too that occurred in our final effort in Hoover, can help us. And then the thing about our league is, and similar to the ACC and some others, it’ll beat you up, but it’ll also prepare you. So I think our guys can call on a lot of different things that have occurred in the past to help them in the future, but more importantly, present.”