Tony Vitello quickly rewriting Tennessee baseball's postseason record books
Tony Vitello is rewriting Tennessee baseball’s postseason record books. And he’s doing so quickly after leading the Vols to the Super Regionals for a third straight year after going 3-for-3 in the Clemson Regional over the weekend.
The Vols, the regional’s No. 2 seed, started their stay at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson with an 8-1 win over No. 3 Charlotte Friday night. They battled back from down 4-2 in the ninth Saturday night against Clemson, down to their final strike in multiple at-bats, but rallied for a 6-5 win in 14 unforgettable innings. Then they took down Charlotte again Sunday, 9-2, to move on to the Super Regionals for the third time in three years.
Before Vitello, Tennessee baseball had just two appearances in the Super Regional round, winning regional championships at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville in 2001 and 2005. When the Vols went to Omaha for the College World Series in 1995, they won the Mideast Regional at home, before the Super Regional format was used.
Tony Vitello has led Vols to three of five Super Regional appearances in program history
Vitello in 2019 took Tennessee back to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2005, but his team was eliminated by host North Carolina after going 2-2 in the Chapel Hill Regional.
Since then? The Vols are a perfect 9-for-9 in regional play the last two seasons, punching their tickets to the Super Regional round at home the last two years and doing so on the road at Clemson on Sunday, the first regional title won away from home in program history.
Vitello, who is now 232-96 as Tennessee’s head coach dating back to 2018, won 29 games in his first season in Knoxville and then 40 in Year 2. The 2020 season was cancelled by COVID after 17 games, with the postseason run starting a year later.
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The Vols won 50 games in 2021 and made a run to the College World Series in Omaha. It started with Drew Gilbert’s walk-off grand slam for a 9-8 win over Wright State, the start of what would become the current nine-game win streak in regional play.
Tennessee then beat Liberty twice to advance to a home Super Regional date with LSU. The Vols swept the Tigers in the three-game series, winning 4-2 and 15-6.
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Southern Miss/Penn, Super Regional
Last year there was less drama in regional play. Tennessee’s 57-win team beat Alabama State 10-0 after earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Vols then beat Campbell and Georgia Tech to advance, but their pursuit of back-to-back Omaha trips was denied by Notre Dame in Super Regionals, with the Fighting Irish winning two of three in Knoxville.
Tennessee could be back home to host Super Regional play next weekend, as the Vols await either Southern Miss or Penn out of the Auburn Regional. Auburn was eliminated in two games and Southern Miss eliminated Samford Sunday afternoon.
Dates and host sites for the Super Regional round will be announced Tuesday morning.
