Tennessee is back to super regional play for the fourth-straight season following the 12-3 win over Southern Miss in the Knoxville regional championship game on Sunday night from Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The following is a written transcript from the Tony Vitello press conference. Catcher Cal Stark and outfielder Hunter Ensley were also present.
Tony Vitello Transcript
Opening Statement…
“Congrats to our players. They worked hard. Also, congrats to everybody that was a part of
our regional tournament. There were some gritty efforts from a young team we just played,
a team we played last night that had a lot of injuries and then a team that’s probably
doubted by many, for various reasons, in Northern Kentucky. It won’t be their last regional
anytime soon. We’re very appreciative of the fact that we were able to survive or win the
tournament. The first thing with this game tonight, we deserve a shout out to ‘Vamos Vols’.
Those who were at the game know why. Our guys in the dugout know that, but overall all
the fans were outstanding. Every time I get critical when I’m kind of watching, like I don’t
know why our guys have to clap their hands for Billy in the dugout, but every fan should.
Why isn’t everybody doing that? Well, everybody’s doing it tonight and other little
adjustments. It’s just fun to see, like I said last night, the whole thing evolve. And it
certainly helps our efforts and makes it an advantage to play at home. The game started
out to me with a little extra tension, which was very frustrating, and I probably added to it,
which detracted from our play, but we were also seeing a good arm. We recruited that kid.
We liked that kid a lot out of high school in (JB) Middleton. He’s improved, and he’s
certainly well coached. So, it’s not like things were easy, but there was a little tension there
interfering. I know the next thing they score, but whatever happened there was Zander
(Sechrist) seemed to kind of flip the script a little bit. Everybody decided if this guy’s going
to get hit with a line missile and stay out here and compete and also be willing to kind of
have that Zander smile like he always does, then we should probably relax a little bit, but
also compete the way that he is. Again, I think it flipped a little bit. Then, we give the ball off
to (Nate) Snead. Neither of those two guys are the ones that are in here, but they very easily
could be. They did an outstanding job and made it easier on our offense tonight.”
On battling through adversity in the bottom of the fifth inning and responding in the
sixth…
“I’ve been a part of really good teams. We had every reason—you could call an excuse if
you want—but we had every incentive, reason or whatever you want to call it to make it a
long day of tension, frustration and ‘Why not this? This could have went our way. I just
drove that ball all the way to the wall, and it didn’t go over the fence.’ But this team is pretty
mature. I think Billy (Amick) had really mature answers when kind of asked about our team
in particular and what the approach is. I think it’s a balanced lineup. It’s a balanced
pitching staff, but it’s also a balanced mindset, which makes things easier on us.
Sometimes, we just have to check ourselves as coaches and make sure we’re in line with
these guys’ personalities. This was not a 12-3 game; we kind of pulled away there at the
end, but there was some good experience in each of those three games that we had that I
think can help prepare us for things that are ahead.”
On having players like Cal Stark and Dean Curley at the bottom of the order help
elevate Tennessee to another level…
“It just makes it another section. I can’t say it’s the middle of the order, because it’s not the
middle of the order. But they’re all sections. I mean, Christian Moore is also not a leadoff
hitter. We’ve got pretty good sections in there. Dean got interviewed last night. The K-State
game sticks out where the offense revolved around his spot in the order. I think he was
maybe in the six hole or eight hole that night, and it can vary from game to game. Certainly
this weekend, we’re talking about it being a complete weekend for the offense. It’s kind of
gone that way, too, where Hunter’s kind of in the middle and sometimes it revolves around
him. There have been plenty of nights where it revolves around Dylan. Again, the bottom
line is I think everyone that we have in there, including Bradke (Lohry) not getting out of the
way of a pitch that’s dang near at his neck, everybody in there is looking to make it difficult
on the opponent. Anyone in there is certainly capable of doing great things.”
On his confidence level that Hunter Ensley would find an extra gear in the
postseason…
“He’s already shown, and I always say ‘tie goes to the runner,’ which I don’t even know if
that’s the rule. I’m as much for competition as anybody, but when you do have experience
and we know truly what you can do in games, it does give you an edge. Based off what he
did for us last year in so many different situations, you can’t erase that. I personally don’t
invest in some of those numbers that y’all pay attention to, and you should. We kind of pay
attention to certain things that are just always there. Whether it be taking charge in the
outfield, being able to be one of the better center fielders in the country, defensively, being
an aggressive and really good baserunner and being a fighter at the plate. The numbers will
kind of work themselves out if you’re in there competing your butt off. I kind of wanted to go
to Charlie (Taylor) for Billy (Amick), but I’m like, ‘eh it would be nice for Billy to get a hit’. I’m
sure he wanted one. If we’re not sitting here doing this interview we’d probably have to play
again tomorrow without Billy, but he didn’t necessarily get a hit tonight. That stuff will
fluctuate a little bit, but if you have the right approach out there plus some ability, then
we’re investing in you for sure.”
On his post-game message to the team….
“We didn’t say much in the outfield, because the fans were going nuts and these guys felt
good, but the tournament is over with. The guys had some kind of sign or something, and
they won it. Kind of like Hoover, they should take pride in it, confidence and certainly enjoy
it. I think sometimes, when you work real hard like these guys do, you don’t take a moment
to enjoy it and be appreciative of the people that helped get you there, but next weekend is
kind of a fresh start for both teams. It will be in Knoxville, and it is a new tournament. It’s
got a different label; it’s called super regional, but now it’s a weekend series. It’s one of the
reasons why everybody in the country, not just the SEC, takes pride in their conference
series and how competitive they can get.”
On freshman infielder Dean Curley…
“Dean is certainly competitive, but he’s also very mature. He’s just a unique guy. Some of
his comments you don’t make unless you have a lot of wit and you’re comfortable in your
own skin and you’re mature. I’m speaking on some comedic things he says, but also some
things he says about the game. I love this state, but SoCal produces a lot of good baseball,
and he’s from there. He played at a high level, was around a lot of really good people and
he comes from a phenomenal family. All of those things are a part of his pedigree, which
we are reaping the benefit of that, for sure.”
On the value of subtle defensive plays…
“I’m glad you pointed that out, because that will be part of our meeting when we meet on
Monday or Tuesday, is the value you can add to a game without being the guy that’s on
Twitter or the guy that gets to wear the hat or whatever. [Christian Moore] was incredible
defensively tonight. [Kavares Tears] had a game like that where we didn’t get much
offensively at all, but he was incredible in the outfield, so good stuff.”
On Tennessee’s undefeated streak through four consecutive regionals…
“I think each year is separate; each weekend is separate. We’re so blessed when we’re
here. It is difficult on the opponent. Our guys, I think, put in a lot of extra reps and take a lot
of pride in the fact this is their workplace, so being at home is one thing, for sure. And then
last year, I don’t know. It was unique. I think that was a grudge match in game two, and
whoever was going to win that one was certainly going to have an edge. That game was
wild; it could have gone either way. Like anything, I don’t think there’s one answer, but I do
think each team is different. We have been meeting in this room right here that’s set up for
media for seven straight years, and the guys that came here our second and third and
fourth year set life up much, much better for these guys that are to my left. Ensley is
buddies with some of those guys, but some of those guys set the tone. They made some
people angry, made some people question what we are trying to do and crazy stuff. But
what we were trying to do is get involved in this. Southern Miss has been doing this for 20
years. Rather than knock on the door, some of these guys decided to try to kick the door in
and throw helmets and stuff like that. Not all the best, but it put these two guys to the left in
a better position. I think the last three years have been a compound effect of some lessons
learned and some things gained by other people that came before these guys.”
On why he thinks it is so pivotal for the team to produce in the sixth inning…
“That’s a tough one to answer without research, but the immediate response is that these
guys are pretty good at trying to figure things out. We’ve talked about Christian Moore at
some point. He’s a good athlete, but he’s kind of a puzzle solver too. You’ve seen people
turn over the pitching when our lineup turns over or changes the pitching. I think our other
guys were like that too. Coach (Josh) Elander puts in a ton of hard work scouting-reportwise. I think the middle of the game is when you usually need to make some adjustments
and figure some things out. That requires hard work, communication and also the
willingness to also try and make some adjustments and figure things out. I think there’s
something to that.”
On Zander Sechrist working through adversity…
“He’s a hockey fan, and I don’t know if I should do this anymore, but we mess around at
practice and I use the fungo bat as a hockey stick and he’s the goalie. I actually hit him on
the knee, and he had a knee save the other day. Maybe we should not do that anymore.
He’s a tough kid in his own way. He’s the definition of a quirky lefty, a lovable kid and a
great teammate. Somehow, it’s kind of odd how he gets out there and is as much of a
competitor as Hunter Ensley and Cal Stark. It’s been fun to be around him, and it’s been
really cool to see him evolve as a pitcher in each year that he’s here. That’s why I think our
guys have faith in him. You can tell our fans take to him like they do to Charlie (Taylor) as
well, and he’s earned that. He’s certainly competitive.”
On how he has seen Cal Stark grow this season…
“There has been growth there for four years of his college career. That’s why we recruited
him. That’s what his junior college coaches had to say about him. It’s a great program that
he comes from. We have a good relationship with those guys, and they were his biggest
advertisers. One of those things was he’s going to meet challenges head on. So, we could
dissect why he’s gotten better offensively or why he’s gotten better over the course of four
years, but I think they all fall under the umbrella of he meets challenges head on. Whether
it’s to be better offensively than he was last year, to understand that we feel like we’re as
deep as anybody in the country at that catching position, but he obviously wants to be the
guy that’s out there the most or dealing with Coach Anderson and his ridiculous standards
every day. He’s met any challenge you can imagine head on, and so he’s improved from it.”
Cal Stark Transcript
On his approach during his at-bats Sunday…
“I was really just trying to slow everything down. The crowd was good tonight, so kind of
just control my breathing, slow everything down and then look for something that I can
handle and hit hard. I just tried to put a good swing on it both at-bats.”
On Zander Sechrist’s resiliency…
“I think it just shows what type of teammate he is. He’s a tough guy. He’s going to go out
there and compete. You know whenever something like that doesn’t go his way, he’s going
to have everyone one of our backs, put his best foot forward, keep making pitches and just
competing as a whole.”
On Christian Moore’s defensive performance…
“He puts a lot of work into it to become better and better each and every day, so I think that
work is starting to show off. Making those plays is not an easy thing. You can’t really
practice the plays that he had been making, like the jump throw or the diving play. It’s just
kind of reactionary and pure skill.”
On balancing practice for both catching and hitting…
“I think we split it up a good bit. I have plenty of time to do both; it’s fun to do both. I get to
work with Coach [Anderson] every day. It’s a lot of fun; he’s one of the best in the business
for a reason. Getting to learn from him and also getting to learn from coach [Josh] Elander
each and every day, it just puts me in a better spot out there on the field and in the mental
state, because this game is very hard both physically and mentally. Getting to work with
both of those guys, it’s pretty fun.”
Hunter Ensley Transcript
On whether this weekend was Tennessee’s most complete offensively from top to
bottom…
“I thought for all three games, it was pretty complete. There were definitely a few things
that we can go back and do better for sure. But for a three-game series that we had, we did
a lot right with some to improve on.”
On the message postgame knowing that there are still games left to play…
“Enjoy this one for the night, I guess, until we get out of here and then back to work
tomorrow or whatever schedule we have next week. There’s a lot to do for the rest of the
week to get better for this weekend regardless of who we play. I don’t really feel like it
matters right now. Really just get back focused, come tomorrow and get ready for the
weekend.”
On his improvement at the plate in the past month…
“The last month is just really going up there and trying to make everything a little bit more
simple, not really overthink in the box. Just calm down, relax and try to catch the barrel on
it. [I’ve] been doing a little better approach-wise, so I think that’s helped me for the last 20
games or so.”
On Christian Moore’s defensive performance…
“I told him after the double play this weekend, I think he looks like Robinson Cano out
there. I think I heard it on his own interview on Rally Cap, but that’s who he kind of
reminded me of this weekend, just flashing the leather all weekend, making a lot of diving
plays that sometimes I think he’s just a little bit short on. I thought this weekend, he was
phenomenal on the defensive side.”
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