Everything Tony Vitello said on the Tennessee-Auburn weekend series in Knoxville

Tennessee baseball was back in action on Sunday afternoon from Lindsey Nelson Stadium for the finale of a three-game Southeastern Conference series with Auburn. The following is a written transcript from coach Tony Vitello’s postgame press conference on the weekend of play.  

Up Next: Tennessee is back in action on Tuesday evening by playing host to Indiana State at 6 o’clock eastern time. The Vols then welcome Vanderbilt next weekend for more SEC play.

On AJ Russell’s start…

“It was good, it was better. And then, you know, obviously (Auburn catcher) Chase (Fralick) did an incredible job with two strikes, and then the next guy gets a flare, and then to be honest with you, if you look back on it, we turned the lineup over. You’d like to go back in time, if you could, and maybe do somebody else. But, you know, gives up another single there. So it wasn’t like he was out of the zone or not throwing good pitches. They did a really good job. I mean, they did a good job with two strikes throughout the series, but it kind of spiraled there quick on him, but he was really good, especially in the first inning. You could tell there was an attitude difference, and certainly the stuff spoke to that as well.

On what led to his ejection in the fifth inning…

“Probably the comparison of the check swings of Levi (Clark) versus — Levi won’t like hearing it, but I think he went. I think both guys went. I think that was a spillover, too, from the first guy. Which I pat myself on the back and everybody else for keeping composure because our best player got thrown out of the game in an elimination situation for exchanging words with a guy — two adults competing in a league, which for the record everybody gets to chime in in this league more than anybody on Twitter and from the stands more than anything else. If anything, these guys that are out there between the lines should probably get to say some things to each other and probably should be granted that right.”

If Auburn outfielder Bristol Carter also got ejected following the altercation with Tennessee LHP Liam Doyle…

“No.”

If Tennessee will try to appeal Doyle’s suspension…

“It’s by the book, so whatever the rules are.”

On the problems for Tennessee’s offense in Game 1 and Game 3…

“The first game, we got in a hole there early, and then you restart, and 22-inch rims are pretty big. So, you know, guy (Auburn RHP Samuel Dutton) with good location, and he’s really good. I mean, he’s one of the better feel good stories in the league, to be honest with you, switching schools (from LSU) within the league, and it’s not like he wasn’t effective there, but he was just kind of a role guy and now he’s their go to guy and best guy. He took advantage of a good situation, and we just didn’t do that well. But I think part of that was playing in a hole.

“And then two, today, emotions are high, you get punched in the gut, and then same thing. We did, in that first game — I will say that — when balls were put in play, or at bats didn’t end without the ball being put in play, guys struck the ball really, really well. Just at guys.”

On Tennessee centerfielder Hunter Ensley’s approach at the plate throughout the weekend…

“He wants to win. His approach is good, but he’s never been the most polished hitter. And I say that to illustrate the fact that a lot of times, when you get into again a league game like this, where both teams are good, got to just fight. And he keeps it simple. So maybe that would be the approach, and he’s the first guy out in the dugout after that — we had so many stops and starts — after we lost the first game, the conclusion of that game, he was the first guy in the dugout, and you could just see in his face he was going to be determined, and so that’s how he played.”

On what the team can take from Hunter Ensley’s mentality…

“Need to follow your leaders for sure, and certain situations call for different leadership. I don’t think you have to have one guy that’s the Peyton Manning that everybody looks to and listens to. If we had to, he’d be a good resource. But I think too, a little bit of guidance from him is key. As we get down the stretch, you get different scenarios. And it gets closer to the end of the year, there’s more conversations. So he and others would be wise to say, I’ve been here before. This is how you handle this, this is what it looks like. But also a great thing would be for all of our players to follow our best leaders.”

On if this team has enough leadership…

“Yeah, I think that part’s great. I mean, we had a conversation there at the end. I think in moments, guys get out of character, maybe get a little over emotional, or stuff like that. Which I know is comical to use that phrase now. But again, I think there was a little more calculation to things. You guys can piece everything together. But no, I think there’s enough talent, enough leadership and enough ability to execute. But we throw up some roadblocks in our own way at times, and you’d like it to be again you play Auburn, there might be a situation where you did what you needed to do, the guy is just good enough with the bat, like the Fralick instance, or you go up there with a good approach, but (Samual) Dutton locates, that could happen, but you don’t want it to happen where you don’t have the right approach, or you put a roadblock in front of yourself.”

On the roadblocks for this team right now…

“I think some guys will get a little too wrapped up emotionally in what’s going on, and you want guys to play with passion. I think that’s been a trademark of ours. Have a little extra fight. I do think they have that, but the way you execute that is to have your emotions under control. And sometimes that can spill over even for our best guys. Like I said, it’s rare for Hunter, he’s been there, done that, but you could go on down the list, and Gavin’s pretty good, but otherwise you can see that spill over for some guys, where they get a little out of control themselves. And in order to be in control, you got to be under control.”

On how much difference there is between how Tennessee is playing and what its best looks like, results aside…

“It’s hard because it’s … blurred lines I think is the phrase and was a song too. We start out of the gate strong. I think after our first 15-16 games, we had the same record we did in ‘20, and probably more talent in ‘20 but this team was ranked No. 1. I don’t even think that team was ranked at that point. If they were, it definitely wasn’t that high. So blurred lines meaning there’s narratives from fans and other people that want our guys to just steamroll over people. In part because it went from, again, it went from, I don’t want to say no respect, because that’s crazy. That’s Rodney Dangerfield’s deal. But it went from, wait a minute, like in ‘23 getting a little too much credit. So, it changes the narrative. It doesn’t for me – ours’ is different, but it does bleed into the locker room and there’s other things to it that create a vibe. So, if you’re just asking me straight up, I think we need to execute a little bit better at home, and then I think we’re in the exact same position – if I’m wrong, forgive me – but you’re talking about one or two wins in the SEC if you flip it. Which is saying a lot. I mean, I know how hard it is to win an SEC game [but] if you flip it now, all of a sudden it’s time to go [and you] drink some fine wine and maybe light up a cigar at the end of it. So that’s my version of it and the conversations we have up in the office. So, we’ve had some hurdles. Like, some pitchers need to get there. Playing young guys and all that stuff. But again, Auburn is doing the same thing. They’re good, but there’s only a little bit of difference there in a couple games. So, I guess, if you’d say, ‘would you be willing to exchange a couple games early in the year for maybe a better performance or a couple more wins at the end of the year?’ I’ll take that trade.”

On the struggle to drive in runs over the weekend…

 “We had some base running mistakes. But again, you got to credit Auburn a little bit with some of the throws they made from the outfield as well. So, we had some base running mistakes that stick out, and then some guys that got a little overzealous at the plate chasing pitches out of the zone. I think that occurred when I was no longer around as well. So, like I said, if our guys will keep pushing forward, the breaks will come their way. You make your own breaks, but you kind of interfere with everything if you get deflated or you get too emotional.”

On the struggles ayt home this season and what needs to change…

“Need to play better. [That would] Be my first, easiest answer. It’d be nice if we had some normal weather and the usual crowds. I mean, I think our crowd – I don’t know why, but it was bigger for the seven inning game than I don’t know how that happened, but those people elevated us. In that extra inning situation, it was like sudden death baseball. And ya got Liam [Doyle] pitching. They were obviously juiced, and I think they affected the game and put us over the edge. And we can’t rely on the fans to play well or be focused. But I think in close situations, which SEC ball more times than not brings up, they put us over the edge in the past and they can do that in the future. So, it’d be nice if we’ve got a regular schedule [and] the normal Lindsey Nelson Stadium. And also, don’t have to be the best version of ourselves, but close to it. But those are all – this ain’t Christmas. Those are all wishes. So, I’m willing to bet with it being the SEC, it’s going to be chaos. Maybe there’s a fluctuation in the schedule. So, I think our guys need to handle adversity and control their emotions and just push forward.”

On the confidence he has in the offense to get going again…

“I think the guys that are in the lineup and then the guys that are working with them in the cage here every day. And then also maybe the fact that we haven’t discovered the best version of ourselves. I think there were some days where, because we were playing so well and everybody thought so high of themselves, we had big margins early in the year. But that circles back to being over emotional. I think they got really, really high on themselves and were shocked that they weren’t invincible. So, that’s a little bit of it too. So, the combination of they’ve got the ability, they’ve done it before, but we haven’t found the best version of ourselves. And also, they’ve learned some very harsh, difficult lessons to swallow. If we can put those lessons to use, then it’ll help.”