Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello gave Zander Sechrist the ball for Game 3 of the Super Regional against Evansville.
That turned out to be a big win for the Volunteers. However, there was tension early, given that it was an elimination game and Evansville scored early. Still, the fans in Knoxville stayed in the game and created what Sechrist described after the game as an unreal atmosphere that he was able to ride to the win.
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“I think this was one of the loudest crowds I’ve ever been a part of since I’ve been here,” Zander Sechrist said. “The Drew Gilbert walk-off homer is obviously either first or second, right there.”
Those types of atmospheres are something that players feel and notice, with some even suggesting they should have borrowed Neyland Stadium from the football team because the crowd was so large.
“But I mean we were joking – we had Gourmet Market this morning – we kind of were joking, ‘What if we played this game tonight in Neyland Stadium?’ We were like, ‘Could we sell it out?’ Some people were like, ‘No, we will only get like 20,000.’ Some people were like, ‘Yeah we could sell it out.’ And some people were like, ‘I don’t know Jim, maybe like 90,000.’”
In the end, Zander Sechrist pitched 6.1 innings, only allowing one unearned run while striking out six batters.
“But overall the crowd was great and I’m so glad that even though we gave up a run in the first, the energy was still there, and then [Christian Moore] leads off the bottom half with the homer and I go back out there,” Sechrist said. “Basically 0-0. I put up a zero and then we scored four in the bottom of the second. It was unreal.”
Zander Sechrist reveals why he was so successful in Game 3 win over Evansville
It was an excellent performance for Zander Sechrist that he was able to put together thanks to his ability to build on his previous outings for Tennessee.
“Honestly, just building off and getting momentum from [the] last outings. Obviously, going back to Vanderbilt and Florida, not being able to get out of the second or third and just assessing and making adjustments on pitches honestly,” Sechrist said.
“And I’ve noticed that I’m not cutting the ball as much. I’m throwing with more conviction, as Coach V likes to say it. Overall, just looking back at different outings like body language presence. Putting multiple outings together and comparing them.”
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