Everything Tony Vitello said following a series-clinching win over Illinois

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello spoke with members of the local media on Saturday afternoon following his team’s series-clinching win over Illinois. The victory was the 14th-straight for the Big Orange.

The following is a written transcript from the Vitello postgame press conference.

On Drew Beam’s outing and why they decided to use him again after the delay…

“To be honest with you, I didn’t decide to bring him back out. He (Drew Beam) did. He wasn’t going to accept [it]. I didn’t want to tell him, I mean we had a good conversation last week if you remember, you know he wasn’t at a very high pitch count, but we scored some runs, fortunately, and just kind of told him that the time is coming where we are probably going to ask more of him than he even wants. But today was kind of an in-betweener. He did so much to keep his body warm and his arm ready during that delay, and it wasn’t too lengthy, but it was lengthy enough to where I would have felt more comfortable taking him out. But we kind of met him in the middle and just gave him one more inning rather than, he probably wanted 2-3 more. But, he really came down here (in the cages) and threw a simulated inning here and then another warm-up in there (the bullpen). So, it’s almost like he threw seven innings in his own round about way, and got close to that 100-pitch mark, which you’re trying to establish yourself as a starter, I guess. 

“But overall, he looked good out of the gate, but I felt like he was picking up steam as the game was going on. I saw him get that little extra pep in his step and some pitches coming out pretty nicely for him. So overall, a good day. Frustrating for him that he couldn’t just pitch continuously. But to be fair, their pitchers were probably more frustrated. I’ve been a part of that thing when it’s the exact opposite in a regional game where it seems like when your guys are out there, it’s raining. And then when the other guys are out there, it’s not raining as hard. But, to be equally fair and bounce back to our side, Drew [Beam] handled adverse circumstances pretty well and overall, it was just good to see another Drew Beam outing.”

On Reese Chapman’s 6 RBI day…

“Good to see him have that day, but more than anything, good to see him get some information where he can just relax and be true to himself. Because he works so hard, and sometimes those guys that work so hard, it’s because it means so much to them. And that can kind of get into overload mode on game day, whereas on game day you’re better off just letting that work pay off for you. Again, I think Blake [Burke] takes as many swings as anybody in here (the cages), I’ve said that to you guys, but Reese is as diligent of a worker as we literally have on the entire roster. And he is such a good kid, he does anything you ask of him. So, we’re all cheering for him, but I think a big key to his success is just relaxing in the box and letting that work pay off, and he’s been very good for us defensively. Maybe today is a notification that going into conference play, we have another weapon, we feel, on the position side of things.”

On Dylan Dreiling being able to hit to all fields…

“I think a little bit of it is maybe not running at the ball so much. Maybe not being so eager to pull the ball. Able to use all fields, kind of like Blake Burke and KT [Kavares Tears] who are a little bit older than him. He seems to be maturing quickly. And Reese [Chapman] showed it today too. It works to use the entire field CMO [Christian Moore] did and Billy [Amick] has done it several times. Now that Dylan is doing that with the added strength that he has over the course of the past 12 months that he’s added, it’s a pretty awesome combination to watch. The other thing is, even more so than last year, he’s just a pest for the team with two strikes. A lot more digging int hen box with two strikes and willing to just battle. Those types of team at-bats that he’s given us and others, it’s made it a fun 1-9 to watch, regardless of who the nine are that day.”

On the role Brayden Sharp has…

“I don’t know. Would be nice if he had eaten another bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch at breakfast and he could have had a homer there. I know it was the deepest part of the park. He’s a lean, strong guys and has done everything that’s been asked of him. If he would kind of get onboard with adding a little more strength and weight, I think the hitting part would really be nice for him. It’s a good swing. He’s super athletic in the outfield. It’s just any time you get a left-handed pitcher – just saying that phrase right there – everybody’s ears perk up or eyes open up and you know there’s a rare commodity there. He was a high-profile lefty in the heart of some of the best – I hate saying the best baseball in Texas. Those people in Texas might drive up here and do something. But he had a pretty special high school career, so he’s capable of really anything here. It’s nice to see him get out here and throw the ball the way he was with conviction. Especially after a long delay. We hit for a while before he came up.”

On pitching plans for Sunday…

“[Aaron] Combs will start. It was semi-intentional but that Combs – [Nate] Snead combination was good on last Tuesday. On Sunday, we will kind of look to use that. But you want to be careful about scripting things too much. Combs will have the first inning and I’m sure he was frustrated he didn’t get another inning on Tuesday but now he realizes it helped him get back out there this Sunday. And then Snead should be fully rested and ready to go again. But also, we were thinking about using [Marcus] Phillips today. He’ll be ready to go. And it’s time to get [Chris] Stamos out there. I thought today would be the day. I’d look for us to use those four guys to be up front and there’s a couple of others available as well.”