Everything Tony Vitello said on a series sweep of Samford

Tennessee finished off Samford 11-1 in run-rule fashion on Sunday afternoon to cap the weekend series sweep. Following the contest, Tony Vitello discussed the weekend with members of the media. Below is a written transcript form the Tony Vitello postgame press conference.

On the offensive performance over the course of the weekend…

“Yeah, both teams kind of looked good in BP, looked good at the start of the game. I thought our pitchers did a good job of holding those guys down. But if you dissected at-bat for at-bat or each at-bat individually, they really took some good swings. It’s not like the wind was taking the ball out or the ball was carrying like crazy. I think our guys just did a really good job and the weather got better each day and our offense got better each day. And I think the problem they’ve presented at the end of the week and what we now know, which we probably knew a little bit earlier, is there’s some depth there. There’s some competition there and you’re kind of looking for somebody to rip the pen out of your hand and make you put them in the lineup every day. But at the same time, we’ve only played so many games. There’s only so many reps for each guy and we’re still trying to figure out some different combinations of things. So they’re going to need to be patient with the coaching staff, mainly me and their opportunities and be ready at all times. And I think too, they should come to the park every day knowing whether it’s them or they’re not in a lineup or it’s their buddy. We’ve got a whole group of guys that’s capable.”

On what Reese Chapman is doing well at the plate to start the season…

“To me it’s just a little different presence. He’s always very methodical in his work in here (batting cages), which is great, but this is training and work in here. Out there it’s competition and it’s, warfare is a little dramatic, but that’s what it is. And it looks like he’s a little more relaxed and got a little more rhythm to him. Everything’s got a little more bounce. And maybe that’s because he’s older. Maybe it’s because he’s worked really hard and realizes he needs to let that pay off. But kind of that rhythm or bounce in his step is different to me the body language. He looks good.”

On what he like about Ryan Combs pitching the final inning…

“He did well. I think, you know, the one danger you get there is he gets two outs, two strikes and wants to please the crowd and himself and his teammates. He’s looking over at the bench and all that stuff. You know, that’s probably a little bit extra. The icing on the cake needs to be the icing on the cake, not the cake, if that makes sense. So I guess that’s the negative part. The good part was that we were able to get him out there. The end of the game kind of snuck up on us, if that makes sense with a couple runs there and the run-rule deal. But he was throwing the ball pretty well overall is what you’re getting at I think that’s spot on.”

On Austin Hunley’s three appearances coming in a dirty inning…

“Yeah, it is a little bit by design. I mean he’s got the composure you’re looking for. You consistently get strikes and then we try and encourage these guys to take fielding their position seriously. And I could see him playing infield at some point this year if we got in kind of a mess or started moving guys around or were in an extra inning game. So I don’t think his brother ever got to play infield. Maybe that’s saying he’s a better athlete than his brother and my point being, he can field this position. So he is very well-rounded and the cool thing is he’s just getting a little better each day that he’s on campus. And I think that’s taking place now too.”

On Levi Clark’s second straight game with a pinch-hit home run and if he’s going to get more playing time moving forward…

“I think so. He’s the example that made me stop in my tracks, but I mean what I said when you want the players to decide what the lineup is. So, he’s a guy who could easily come up to the office [and ask to start]. If you look at some of the numbers we keep in practice, his scores or his numbers were very high from September until now, and they continue to be. That’s because, I mean he’s a super kid off the field, and then he’s got the little switch where kind of like [Dean] Curley last year, I thought we were getting a boy scout, but on game day that seems to convert into a guy that’s pretty damn competitive. And he’s got that edge to him, too, on game day, and he’s as strong as any of the guys we have, as you saw yesterday. What more of him is? I don’t know, because I think he’s played in each game in some capacity, and if that’s not the case, it’s going to be pretty close from now until the end of the year. So, just need to find the right combination, and one day may be different than another.”

On scoring with two outs…

“It was nice to see, and I think today, if I was up in the radio booth or whatever, I think that happened today more out of all the at bats were good. So, the percentages were stacked higher in our favor as opposed to yesterday and the day before. It was kind of like all or nothing, I felt like, or you weren’t getting back-to-back-to-back ABs. So, I think the percentages are always raised, whether it’s two outs, one out, eighth inning, ninth inning, first inning, if you can just have consistently quality at-bats. Even the ones that didn’t end great were pretty dang good.”

On if he can quantify how much better Stone Lawless has been at the plate this season…

“No. Now, he was on a pretty nice track. Of course the arm injury slowed him down a little bit, so that took time. And then two, all you have to do is ask the teammates about him. He’s probably their favorite guy. And last year those guys basically threatened to kill me if we didn’t travel him, and that’s serious. I don’t know how they knew it was even a possibility that he wouldn’t, but they came in his defense. So, that says a lot about the kid. But I’m saying all that to bring up the other topic. That position is… it’s so experience based. So all kids across the country need to realize that’s a position where you need as many reps as possible, and then it takes time to be able to catch and hit D1 pitching when you move into it. 

“It makes me think of the funny thing someone showed me last night. I’m not on Twitter. I’m not ‘Vony Titello.’ I don’t know if anyone saw that. I only saw one tweet. I maybe support the cause there, if I have it right, but I think to play that position in this conference or just in D1 baseball, it’s going to take time. So, he already came in [as] a guy who was a potential draft pick, and Coach E (Josh Elander) obviously nailed it with scouting him, but with the arm injury and just those details, he had to come a long way, and he has.”

On Brandon Arvidson’s start and his role moving forward…

“I think I told you guys the first time he threw the ball really well we took him out – just the way it’s worked out. We’ve wanted to use him a lot and get him a lot of touches on the mound. And so, we’ve scripted it. Right or wrong, when this guy comes up, we’re switching. So, I think he’s done everything he needs to do to show that he’s willing to throw strikes and compete. I’m sure [if] you involved the leadoff hitter or maybe a couple other situations this year, he’d want to throw a better strike. But in January, we had a guy who wasn’t getting on the mound because he was a little bit sore and a guy who had not quite the strike throwing reputation that he would like to brag about. And so those two things are there. So, now executing a little bit better I’m sure is high on his list. He’s a guy we expect to continue to use in a bunch of different roles.”

On the depth of the catchers and how it’s not being thrown together like in some years past…

“I’ll share a conversation with you I had with Frank [Anderson] up in the office talking about it. I mean we did have Landon Gray and [Connor] Pavolony, I think our third year. We’ve kind of had these duos that are really great. Charlie Taylor did a lot for last year’s team, including providing a little bit of depth there because [Cannon] Peebles was a DH and used in a bunch of different ways – which could be scary if you don’t have a third guy. Well Levi [Clarke] and [Dalton] Bargo are the two guys that really make me feel comfortable. So, we did kind of leave Peebles out of the lineup today in case we had to for some reason wanted to switch. They got a couple of guys that [are] going to really run. But having the third and fourth guy I think makes it even better than what you’re alluding to. But yeah, those two guys are very well-rounded base runners, offensive competitors. And then of course Stone [Lawless] showed you that he’s every bit as good as Peebs [Cannon Peebles]. They do it differently. I don’t want to start a – I don’t know how you quantify who’s better back there, but we don’t worry about it as far as who’s better back there at this point.”

On figuring out who pitches when so many guys deserve to throw on the mound…

“It is difficult and it’s early in the year. Hopefully it doesn’t sound like I’m too dumb, but we’re still trying to figure this thing out. I said it I think when we did this the first time after the Opening Day game – scrimmages and game days can be a little bit different. You kind of like when you got a guy like Redmond Walsh or [Chris] Newstrom is like that on this team – just guys that they want game day. It’s not like they’re slacking off in on practice or training, but they want game day. And I think we’re starting to see some guys that are in that mold and then, to be honest with you, there’s some guys that either need to get more consistent or get in that mold a little bit better. We keep talking about lineup and who’s going to pitch when and where. I said the name Hunley. Sean was the prototypical guy that we knew what personality, work ethic and outing we were going to get every single time. And a guy from Florida hit one about 500 feet off him one day and then there was a lot of days he shut them down out there. But regardless of the outcome, we knew what we were getting. So, we just need that from these guys. And I don’t know how you have an unhappy locker room if you got a multitude or too many guys that you trust and then are consistent and can get it done for you. To me, if we end up with that type of group, everybody’s going to be smiling.”