Everything Tony Vitello said following 7-6 loss to ETSU on Tuesday

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with members of the media following Tuesday’s midweek 7-6 loss to in-state foe ETSU. The following is a written transcript from the postgame Tony Vitello press conference on the game and the weekend ahead.

Up Next: Tennessee hits the road for the first time in Southeastern Conference play as the Vols take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa beginning on Thursday at 7:30 pm ET.

On message to the team in the outfield after the game…

“We’ll see what we got. To this point, it’s been nothing but glad handing and hype and everything else. Some of it is earned and some of it is not, but it has all been positive. There’s a lot of negatives in this game and there’s a lot of negatives in competing. We will see what we got between now and a quick turnaround.”  

On what he thinks they could have done better vs. a team that just made plays…

“I think a bunch of it was a team making plays. Whether it was hitting the ball out of the ballpark or making plays on defense. There was a couple of times where they didn’t make plays on defense where we could have taken advantage of it but we didn’t fully do. But I think a lot of it is credit to them. I think a lot of it is poor decisions by me that came back to bite us a little bit. Also, some guys getting exposed who had a little bit of fear.”

On what he saw from Hunter Ensley in his late game RBI hits…

“I think just taking what he was going to get. That’s easy to say when he’s going to hit it where the shift is and I believe with two strikes. And then just kind of, almost a pepperish, putting the ball in play and getting a couple of RBIs out of it. You could flip it or say the other guys, or in other situations we had guys trying to do too much with runners in scoring position or runners on base. He did a good job, which is what you expect out of a mature guy who has a understanding of what it takes to get the job done as opposed to having all that want-to.”

On Andrew Behnke’s return and Brayden Krenzel’s outing…

“I think Andrew was himself, which is what we expected and he did a great job for us. He could have went on longer. Quick turnaround, we expect him to make an impact and throw some vital pitches, maybe vital innings, down in Tuscaloosa.

Krenzel earned that right as well. He took ownership of the game. You want guys who want to be out there. He wasn’t happy he was coming out of the game. You look at it, if you watch the replay or look at the box score, it is easy to say should have left the guy in.”

On explanation he got from umpires on no obstruction call in the seventh…

“That there was obstruction but not enough obstruction to go to the next base. I will have to watch the video. I don’t know exactly what went on. There was obstruction, but the guy has to run all the way to the base. I’ll have to watch the video. We got a freshman out there. No one wants to win more than Manny [Marin] but Manny is a freshman and he wants to be safe. So, he doesn’t want to do anything reckless. That was the explanation.”

On Alabama…

“Just who their coach [Rob Vaughn] is having recruited him. He played under some guys who are here and even played with a guy who is here. His leadership and his ability to get those guys to play together and play hard and have a plan is already been evident to us last year when we went down there and lost the series. I don’t see how it would change. Like every time we play on a Tuesday, we haven’t taken a complete dive into that but you kind of already know it going in. Returning guys that were a part of a winning team last year and new faces that are a part of a winning team going on right now. They went and did some work on the road last week. They will be expected to get back home and hold court there or hold serve – however you want to say it.” 

On if Tanner Franklin looked better…

“Yeah, he looked great. I think if he throws a first pitch ahead of that one (the home run) in the zone, it’s a little bit different. I don’t think he did it in that situation, but a couple of times, we got exposed. We got to a 3-2 count, and guys tried to place it in there. I don’t think he did that. I think the guy just took a good swing. I mean, he was throwing the ball in outstanding fashion. It’s disappointing that, on the box score, it looks like a negative night for him. We can’t babysit these guys. I’m going to have to babysit myself [in order] to help the team in the best way possible. For him, he just needs to look at it and realize you’re exactly right. The last three times he’s thrown the ball, that was the best time. So, just keep pushing forward, because he’s another guy that in Tuscaloosa will have some vital pitches thrown and maybe some vital innings.”

On what he wants the team to take the most from the loss…

“Well, I hope it allows us to get back to the work, because if I’m seeing stuff then they’re seeing that times 10. The ‘how great you are’ [etc]. The league is great, [and] I don’t want to speak for anybody, no one’s great yet. It’s too early in the year. You’re still figuring out what you have and what you don’t have, and you’d like to think the ball that fans see or that you guys watch in February and March isn’t going to be as good as what you will see in May, because teams will continue to progress, and repetitions are so valuable for these young kids. From our standpoint, too, we’re still trying to figure out who is going to do what and who is going to be consistent and who has a lack of fear on gameday and things like that. 

“I think just to get back to the work, and there will be a few less distractions now that the talk of being the greatest and all that stuff is over with.”

On the pitching plan for the Alabama series…

“Liam (Doyle) will start the series for us, and Marcus (Phillips) will throw game two. Then, we will kind of regroup after that second game and see where we’re at.”

On if it’s true that there are some lessons you can only learn in a loss…

“Yeah, I mean, people get comfortable. We’re in a good spot to be having this conversation, because I think a team in the past (2022)… it was hard to not think you’re invincible. And nobody is invincible, for sure. I also think it’s important to find an even balance of how you are going to be every day each inning, because at the end of that game, there were two pretty excited teams looking at every pitch like it was the end of the world. That wasn’t the case in the first inning. And maybe I’m guilty of that, too, but I think that’s an important lesson.”