Tony Vitello explains how Andrew Lindsey has relieved pressure from Tennessee pitching staff

Andrew Lindsey was dominant for the Tennessee Volunteers in his sixth start on Friday. The junior pitcher turned in his best performance of the season against the South Carolina Gamecocks, lifting the Vols to a critical road victory late in the season. He fired five strikeouts in 8.5 innings of work, guiding Tennessee to a 5-0 victory over South Carolina.

Following the win, Vols head coach Tony Vitello spoke with the media about how Lindsey has helped to relieve the pressure on the other pitchers on their staff.

“I think he’s relieved pressure on everybody. There was so much pressure coming from so many different angles. And just when we have that talk in the office with a few guys where it was a little bit reset. I think it allowed everyone just to take a deep breath, almost like a timeout or a halftime and let’s look forward to the second half of the season and what I can do. And it’s simplified a lot of guys tasks. It’s relieved a lot of pressure. And it’s understood, kinda now, at this point, what your role is, if you’re on our pitching staff. You know, that brings comfort to them when they show up to the park,” Vitello said.

Tony Vitello has also been pleased with his team’s depth lately

He’s been very pleased with his team’s depth as of late and he made sure to let media members know about it.

“It’s a challenge, but we weren’t saying that at the beginning of the year. In February and March, you guys probably thought I was crazy or would criticize the lineups when they wouldn’t work. And when they would, just go with that. And now, we have a good problem. We’ve got a bunch of guys that want to help us win and we’ve got a bunch of guys that can help us win. So, we’ll meet up there. We met in my office today. We’ll discuss what we think the plan is and go with it,” Vitello said.

“And we’ll see what the scoreboard says at the end of the day. But right now, it’s a fun group to be around and I know our coaches will prepare and I know our guys will compete. So, let’s roll with that,” Vitello said.

It’s certainly been an adjustment this season for Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello. After all, his team was the best team in college baseball during the 2022 campaign and it wasn’t even really close. This year, the Vols haven’t performed nearly as well, but there’s less pressure on them heading into the 2023 SEC Tournament and postseason play.

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