It was do or die in Game 2 for head coach Tony Vitello and the Tennessee Volunteers in the College World Series championship. There, when they needed it the most, the Volunteers got an excellent performance from their pitchers.
One of those successful pitchers was Aaron Combs, who came in and was excellent in relief, and, after the game, Vitello praised him and how he impacted this Tennessee team.
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“He’s just awesome, man,” Tony Vitello said. “He’s got that stupid chuckle, and obviously he’s got some talent. But he’s so receptive to anything that you bring to him, and he’s so easy to have a conversation. And he’s got a real good balance of believing in himself, which these kids all see swagger and they listen to rap songs and stuff like that. So they have their chest out.”
Aaron Combs came in to replace starting pitcher Drew Beam. At the time, Tennessee was trailing 1-0 in the game that could potentially end their season. The Volunteers couldn’t afford to fall behind anymore and Combs was able to shut the door, pitching four scoreless innings, striking out five, and only giving up three hits. He left the game with the lead and ultimately got the win.
“But there’s got to be a decent combination there. You should think you’re the best when you’re between the lines, but you also need to realize you wouldn’t be between the lines without all the people that helped you, whether it’s — his family is awesome. And we’re excited about his brother coming here next year,” Vitello said.
“But there’s a lot of coaches besides Frank [Anderson] that have helped put him in a position, and it applies to other players too. And in this day and age, you see it fading a little bit. And I’ve kind of had convos with a couple of their guys just because we’ve been passing them the stadium. There’s a lot of kids that are really talented for both teams, but also a lot of kids that just do it the right way. And it’s helped both teams maximize what they have on their roster. Combsy is fun as hell. He’d be a fun hang, but I guess I’m too old.”
Now, Tennessee is getting ready for Game 3 on Monday night with a national championship on the line. After throwing four innings the day before, it will be interesting to see if Aaron Combs is available or if Tony Vitello is going to need to find someone else to take the mound.
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