Tennessee is in the driver’s seat on their side of the College World Series bracket, getting out to a 2-0 start and needing to win just one of a possible two more games to advance to the championship series.
There’s no doubt one large reason for that is Christian Moore. The 6’1 junior infielder is batting north of .380 on the season and is also a defensive asset on the flip side of the field. In fact, he showed out in that phase of the game this week, when he made a wicked fling from second base to throw a runner out at first.
When asked about that play and Moore’s perhaps overlooked defensive value, head coach Tony Vitello gushed about him.
“It’s nuts. If you look at the play, the replay, we were able to watch it more than one time, it was a pretty dang good play,” he said, then explaining the importance of such an effort.
“But it’s nuts to see what happens after that. He might have saved us from going to a guy in the bullpen. North Carolina has been able to mount some comebacks, too, so you’re trying to prevent any chaos from starting.”
Vitello notes, though, that this version of Moore is not the guy who first started at second base.
“He’s taken a lot of pride. It wasn’t good over there at second freshman year, to be honest with you. It became a pride point for him, and he got really good at it last year. Now he’s gotten to the point he played shortstop for us at some point this year.”
That positional versatility has become a part of Moore’s profile as a player, and is appealing to organizations at the next level. He’s even pleading to play in the outfield, per Vitello.
“He was begging to go to center as soon as Ensley came out of the game. He has been there this year. Good conversation for scouts to have. Clearly this guy is physical enough and smart enough to be a hitter at that level.”
The Tennessee coach then fired a stray at former Atlanta Braves second baseman and Dan Ugla, explaining where Moore’s exploits are greater than the three-time MLB all-star
“Where are we going to play him? I think they have a lot of options. At the very least, it won’t be a Dan Uggla, with all due respect. You’re not just putting a bat at second base. As you mentioned, he’s pretty dang good over there for us.”
Christian Moore: a bonafide all-around player, according to Tony Vitello.
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