Tennessee Baseball's Tony Vitello details 11-1 win over Tennessee Tech I Volunteers I GBO

spark in The Dugout when Ariel's out there playing short stop yeah I mean um he's a lovable kid and I think the guys enjoy his passion for the game at times I would find myself even envious of just how much he truly likes playing um it's a NeverEnding Vibe he has for wanting to be out there wanting to do different things defensively and it's not like he doesn't like to hit too um but I think that that's kind of the source of of what we've got going right now with our team is they pull for each other and when it's their opportunity they seem to be prepared and skilled enough to attack the task with with a decent success rate and when it's not they're kind of tuned into what the other guys are doing and and they're they got their back which has got some value to it it makes your teammate a better player but he's already a good player what Robin obvious um it's kind of like having a Friday guy you know um you want a guy that is going to lead you into battle um you know somebody that if if he was kind of literally leading the charge you would want to get behind him and and Robin is that type of guy he's he's as competitive as it gets um but he's also really good at understanding the strike zone and is going to be able to get on base whether it's that or because of you know he's a good hitter as well he's got good hand eye uh so felt like he could kind of lead us into the charge and you know make Simo shoulder the low to that that three hole and he each spot you know you're kind of only in that spot one time through the order and then it's all mixed and matched but having said that these kids and you all and coaches put labels on each spot and you know sometimes they're true sometimes they're not but the one thing about kind of sitting in that three hole whether it be Billy or Simo you're you're kind of saying I'll jump on this grenade for the team and I'll kind of you know wear this a little bit I guess wear this responsibility the key for kind of taking advantage of his opportun I I think just kind of getting comfortable out there and the game coming slower to him rather than it maybe and I don't mean to speak for him but maybe at times it's it's kind of gone fast for him because uh you know it's your first year on campus as a freshman last year and you're trying to take advantage of these opportunities so the coaches will play you more and it turns into this big extra game not just the game of baseball um but this year for the most part I mean we started him game two of the year um certain guys like Robin have done well so maybe he gets squeezed out a little bit on some reps in there but we've always wanted to keep him involved and a trustworthy Defender and a really good base runner uh but the hitting part I is just unlocking that that skill that he has to hit um by relaxing and playing and knowing that he belongs and you he's always kind of walked around with the proper posture and and kind of the right Mojo but I think right now it's it's sincere and it's true and he he really believes in himself and for he should for good reason he's he's had a lot of success in his life hitting and he's worked Ultra hard in here I don't know if he takes as many reps as anybody else but his intent behind his reps is is probably the standard for our team there a lot of freshman today what's been your biggest take that that they're capable I I think you know an obvious question to ask before this is over is how our shortstop played and um to be honest with you he played he played well but he just played like himself if anything he could have had a better game I'm sure if he would have driven the ball like he did his first at bat which is really hard to do he drove two balls his first that bat but everything he did today did not surprise anybody in our Dugout and that's not to say he's the greatest player ever or to be arrogant either but it's it's just not a surprise it's what they're capable of doing I tell you that long story to tell you the pitchers should see themselves as the same way what they did today to keep down a good team that if they get on the bases they're going to run and they've got good numbers and you know they come in a lot of kids are from this area so they either love or hate the balls which can play into the deal um they did what they're capable of doing you know they can throw strikes and when they do it's really good stuff schaer it's really good stuff um I consider Marcus Phillips a freshman just based off what you know he went through last year and U that stuff was you know was kind of the exclamation point on the night with what he had going Soh no surprise it's what they're capable of and I look forward to the next opportunity for them to do it touched on how important was it for those freshman arms no walks tonight it was huge because you know it allowed our offense after not capitalizing on a first and third and a base is loaded and then maybe another base is loaded um it allowed them to breathe and go out there and kind of you could see the swings become a little more free and the chatter and The Dugout become a little more free because our pitchers literally took control of the game uh they did it with our guys playing catch behind them but it all started with them playing catch with the catcher and uh no that was huge that's a staple of what Frank does you know throw strikes when we look at a guy recruiting Wise It's can this guy throw strikes and they wouldn't be in uniform if we didn't think they could so kind of back to my other point um it's it's no surprise some guys threw a better pitchers than other pitches than others tonight or got away with a mistake maybe but the bottom line is they all had good presence and they threw strikes and I think they truly attacked their opportunity that they knew they were going to get today what can you tell us about Billy situation and where are you with AJ um yeah with AJ kind of waiting to see what what's there and I would expect kind of you know maybe we went too quick or maybe we didn't um I don't think there's a a real answer there but maybe kind of back to where we were where got to let things calm down and let them rest so I wouldn't say we're in any kind of hurry with that or anything on the horizon for him anytime soon with Billy I think it will be sooner than later but you know with the appendic situation um he had to go all of a sudden anyone who's dealt with that it's an all of a sudden thing go to the hospital um get things worked on and so for him to be available this weekend isn't a reality but I think sometime soon after is is definitely a reality it was nice to see him healthy enough to be in The Dugout and he he gave part of the postgame speech and stole my thunder so he's he's good at a lot of things he's kind of one of those guys for players like me that aren't very good you kind of want to smack him sometimes but it's nice to write his name in the lineup but that'll that'll be a little while how excited are you to do with Charlie cond this weekend you know their whole team I understand has hit a lot of home runs and uh you know the standard answer for you guys is we haven't really looked at things yet because you're worried about Tennessee Tech but I do know uh it's kind of like Alabama you got a new coaching staff um and so you got a new energy and a new Vibe that's going to be there that'll benefit them at the start of the year I'm sure it has and we continue throughout the year and um and then the other thing is they inherited some pretty good players I'm sure they brought in some guys like Alabama too um haven't Dove to it enough to know that but uh he's he's a guy that played with Simo and and Drew beam this summer so uh certainly familiar with everybody that was capable of you know being good enough to be on that team but there's other guys too yeah it's nice um you know I think his arm kind of plays anywhere on the field and the first spot he was playing when we saw him recruiting was first base and I think part of that was just kind of rangy you know kid with a little bit of height and also a good attitude I think part of the deal was he was at All-Star event who's willing to run over over there instead of playing their normal spot like shortstop or or whatever everybody's favorite spot is so he's he's pretty flexible and able to go anywhere we really want to put him I don't think he's caught before um heck he was even I think I mentioned in here once committed as a pitcher earlier in his high school career so um he's capable of doing a lot of things and he's a fun one to be around