Tony Vitello explains the importance of having pitchers fresh entering postseason

The Tennessee Volunteers just wrapped up their 2023 regular season, finishing with an overall record of 38-18. They’ll have much less pressure on themselves heading into this postseason as opposed to last year, where they were the clear-cut No. 1 team in all of college baseball. Recently, Vols head coach Tony Vitello discussed the importance of keeping his pitchers fresh heading into postseason play. He knows he’ll have to rely upon several different pitchers in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

“You know, it opens up more possibilities. We’re not gonna throw guys until they tell us they’re ready. But it opens up more possibilities. Nothing really matters except for Tuesday’s game for our club. It also affects guys, you know, down the road. I don’t think our run in the tournament last year had anything to do with, maybe not going as far as we wanted to. But one thing it does require you to do is use a multitude of pitchers and have those guys throwing their best stuff,” Vitello said.

“And so, the way I think the season has gone, we haven’t really gotten anyone past 100 pitches, if you want to look at it or any kind of crazy stuff. So, it’s a good group. They’re obviously well coached. I think he’s the best in the country for a reason. So, that group’s ready to go. If our guys play defense behind him and have kind of relaxed at bats like they did in Game 1 and Game 3, I think we’ve got a good chance. And they had relaxed at bats in Game 2, to be fair. [Jack] Mahoney is….when he gets that look in his eye, he’s pretty good,” Vitello said.

Tony Vitello praised Andrew Lindsey

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 his 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.

Tennessee is facing off against the No. 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies in the upcoming SEC Tournament. They’ll square off at Hoover Met Stadium in Hoover, Alabama on Tuesday, May 23rd at 1:30 PM EST.

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