{"id":55414,"date":"2024-06-10T04:20:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-10T09:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=55414"},"modified":"2024-06-10T04:20:34","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T09:20:34","slug":"everything-tony-vitello-zander-sechrist-and-dalton-bargo-said-on-a-super-regional-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/everything-tony-vitello-zander-sechrist-and-dalton-bargo-said-on-a-super-regional-title\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Tony Vitello, Zander Sechrist and Dalton Bargo said on a super regional title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennessee baseball is headed back to the College World Series following a game three Knoxville Super Regional win over Evansville, 12-1<\/a> on Sunday night from Lindsey Nelson Stadium. <\/p>\n

The following is a written transcript from Tony Vitello and players Zander Sechrist<\/a> and Dalton Bargo after handling the Purple Aces to punch their ticket back to the College World Series. <\/p>\n

Tony Vitello opening statement\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCongrats to our fans for sure. I mean, cheering pickoffs and definitely the loudest that it\u2019s ever been in here. Congrats to our players. They\u2019ve obviously worked hard like anybody that\u2019s left at this stage in the season. And obviously a huge congrats to Evansville. Didn\u2019t really know how to say it or show it or even hear to describe how much respect we have for their program and really this team in particular.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ll leave it at that. And then speaking of their program, Coach Carroll has stayed in an awful lot of hotels as a recruiting guy and I have too. So you guys made the mistake of giving me the mic. So I\u2019ll add to my opening statement really picking up where we left off yesterday where somebody asked me a question that bothered one of my players. So I\u2019ll have his back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But again, if you got to cut me off, cut me off. But I\u2019ve stayed in an awful lot of hotels to be in this position alone and running around and watching games and we\u2019ve done it I think from the ground up here. And while I\u2019m at it, anybody that\u2019s thinking about visiting our place that we\u2019re recruiting and you think this is a place you can come and have your hand out and see how much money we can give you, don\u2019t waste our time and don\u2019t waste your time either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the question was posed basically about our season and if we lose tonight, it\u2019s all for not, and Blake Burke wasn\u2019t too happy about it. Blake Burke\u2019s got a lot invested in this particular program. If I was Blake, back in that day, I was a little too wild. I would\u2019ve said, \u2018B you wasn\u2019t with me shooting in a gym or something similar to that.\u2019 But he kept his composure. Clearly you\u2019ve seen me in action. I don\u2019t have great composure so I\u2019ll speak on it for a sec because it started out as we were No. 1 for most of the season. That\u2019s an incorrect statement. It\u2019s not a fact. I don\u2019t know who was number one preseason because I don\u2019t look at it. It\u2019s a very difficult sport to predict what\u2019s going to happen. Nobody predicted Evansville to be here, but they were. And then also we were not No. 1 majority of the season. As a matter of fact, when we first took over, I was astonished Kentucky was winning our league, which you guys write up\u2014\u00a0it\u2019s one of the most, if not the most competitive league. And they were No. 1 in the division. But somehow we were number one on writer\u2019s polls. But we weren\u2019t for most of the season we had to work to get to that point. No question.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then again, the word success to me is very important in this room. We make these guys write down what success is for them and teach them that they need to define what a successful at-bat is or what a successful outing is. Whatever. Noah, it\u2019s Noah Webster\u2014\u00a0 Webster\u2019s dictionary. It says success is a degree or measure of achievement or if you read in another deal online, degree or measure of succeeding. So those two words right there, and I definitely ain\u2019t the smartest fellow degree and measure means you get a pick. You get to pick what success is, which is pretty awesome. So Noah probably doesn\u2019t know how to define it with these guys where you got to sweat, you got to be in the weight room together. You got to trust the guy. If you give up a ground ball can make the play for you. Or if you give up a run, the other guy will go to work for you. He wasn\u2019t that, but he was a thinker. And the big thing Noah was, he loved his country. Big time patriot. Which is kind of a lost art around here. So I don\u2019t know the guy, but I got a lot of respect for him and I liked the way he wrote that whole deal up as far as degree or measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I get a pick. I was around my dad a lot. He can\u2019t tell me what to do. I don\u2019t consider myself\u2014 I work for people here, but I\u2019m my own boss when I come here. And for me, success is part-group. When our group has success, I consider myself a teammate to these guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It means I have a level of success. But then there\u2019s also the part where I got a job to do and I got to make decisions. And if you were to put all my decisions in a bucket for the weekend, I had more wrong decisions than correct decisions. For instance, Dalton Bargo probably should have pinch hit yesterday. He showed me that with some attitude and some success today. And I\u2019m not so sure he doesn\u2019t do it yesterday too if we pinch hit him against (Shane) Harris because he wants to go home and he\u2019s going home (to Omaha). But you know what Bargs? Success for me is being a good teammate. And Cal Stark is my guy. That\u2019s my guy. For a lot of reasons, no doubt. So success for me is what I get to judge. If you\u2019re talking about success for this team, the one thing I stated after last season, because I\u2019m in a bathroom crying with just a lot of emotions after we\u2019re able to beat Clemson last year, was to show up at work every day and get out of my car excited. And to have fun and to be around people that want to be here and be in an environment that you\u2019re excited to get to every day. 100% success. Omaha is real fun to go to. If you don\u2019t play that well, it ain\u2019t that fun. But I don\u2019t really give a damn to be honest with you. As a matter of fact, we kind of can pick up where Evansville left off. We\u2019re not supposed to win because the No. 1 never wins. So house money. So I\u2019m going to consider this even more of a success this year, but definitely because of that group in particular being the way they are.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I think 2022 was brought up. We could have won 30 games in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jared Dickey, who had a phenomenal post on social media today, transformed his entire body after quitting baseball as a part of one of the best teams and was a success as an individual among many other great things that happened about it, hey, you didn\u2019t like the team?\u00a0<\/p>\n

So what? They got you talking about college baseball? I can tell you that. To me, that team was a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the one thing I definitely wanna say about Evansville, Mr. Rumsey, Ty, I believe. I apologize if I got your first name wrong. Last out of the game. Not rubbing it in, not pointing fingers, all right? Be told you never got to play in Omaha. You know what, Rumsey can get on a plane and go to Omaha anytime he wants. Alright? That\u2019s easy to do. You know what\u2019s not easy to do? To run face first into a wall full blast, get stitches, injure your shoulder, and then on top of that, to play in today\u2019s game. I\u2019ve seen that guy, that guy made me nervous. I\u2019ve seen a bunch of catches that guy made when we watch video. He made me nervous. So Omaha or not, who gives a damn? That guy\u2019s an absolute success. And when he is older, he\u2019ll be able to look everybody in the eye and say, \u2018when I played, I don\u2019t know what the hell his batting average is. I was a warrior. Warrior period. And a part of one of the best Evansville teams ever. And no one will ever be able to take that away from him. And every time he sees one of his teammates or goes back to that facility at Evansville, they\u2019ll say, \u2018hell yeah, there\u2019s that guy right there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tony Vitello on Zander Sechrist, his outing and where that ranks\u2026.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of hotels \u2013 hey, you get it wrong more than you get it right. At the end of the season, I\u2019ll come forward with some confessions about recruiting and some of the players that that did things. But me, Frank [Anderson] and Josh [Elander], you got all three of us there. You drug it out and made us do all kinds of stuff for you [looks at Sechrist]. Sat there and watched him pitch in high school, [and] said that kid\u2019s going to pitch in Omaha \u2013 just because the way he competed, the way the ball came out of his hand. And the players kind of decide how confident you are. I think that\u2019s kind of your original question when it\u2019s coming out of the hand like that and you\u2019re moving around, there\u2019s no doubt. There\u2019s no doubt. I use Redmond Wallace as an example for all this. When you go home again, if you\u2019re going to consider it a deal where you\u2019re okay with it, whether it goes well or it doesn\u2019t, you want to put your head on the pedal and say, \u2018I\u2019ll win or lose with that guy anytime\u2019. And Redmond Walsh was that guy, but he\u2019s gone and now we got another version of him with Zander and I will win or lose with that guy anytime on the field or off the field here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zander Sechrist on his outing and why it was so successful\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, just building off and getting momentum from 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. And I\u2019ve noticed that I\u2019m not cutting the ball as much. I\u2019m throwing with more conviction, as coach V [Vitello] likes to say it. Just looking back at different outings like body language presence. Putting multiple outings together and comparing them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Vitello on past Omaha trips helping this current team\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps a ton because there\u2019s a lot of things to navigate. I mean our, our guys in Hoover, I think it was part of my fault. Some of them I could just see \u2013 I mean, you get a little bit older and you watch guys, some of them are lost and we weren\u2019t in sync and it\u2019s a new environment, new itinerary and you got to kind of be through it a little bit to be at your very best. Now at the same time, there\u2019s been a couple teams that have gone there in their first time, had a ton of success or even won the whole thing. Coastal Carolina comes to mind. But overall, what you would like is to have a vision of what it\u2019s like and how to operate with some of that time off you get and some of the other things.<\/p>\n

So, there\u2019s no question it helps. And I think the younger guys on this team have looked to the older guys for leadership so many different times and that\u2019ll be one instance they need to do it for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zander Sechrist on being the first to greet Kirby Connell and vice versa when they came off the field\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cJust, I love you brother. I mean, we\u2019ve been through hell and back, thick-and-thin. I mean, that man will be at my wedding, my funeral. I mean, you can, you name it. He\u2019ll be there and I\u2019m always a call away \u2013 as he likes to put it. But that relationship will never die. And I can\u2019t thank of him enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dalton Bargo on transferring to Tennessee to play in games like this<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s everything I expected. You know, this is why I made the decision I did and why I came here. Is to win and get back home (Omaha) and that\u2019s exactly what we did and I expected nothing less, but you know, we still got a couple more weeks of baseball. It\u2019s time to bring home a natty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dalton Bargo on what it was like to watch Zander Sechrist pitch tonight<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just another Zander Sechrist outing. Nothing like it. He\u2019s gonna compete every inning, every pitch and it\u2019s exactly what he did. He knows how to pitch, he knows his game, he knows what works for him, he takes advantage of it and it showed tonight and I expect nothing less out of him. He\u2019s one of the best arms we have. There\u2019s a reason that he was starting today and he didn\u2019t disappoint by any means.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zander Sechrist on if he recognized what was at stake today<\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAJ Russell told me when my outing was done \u2014 him and Hunter Ensley live together \u2014 and they kind of made a quote that was pretty funny. They were like, \u2018does Xander like know what\u2019s going on? Or is he too goofy to just not know what\u2019s going on at all? But I mean, that\u2019s fine with me. It felt like a packed out Tuesday to be honest \u2019cause I\u2019ve pitched so many Tuesday. But the only difference was that, you know, it\u2019s NCAA baseball everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zander Sechrist on what he did during the one-hour rain delay<\/strong>..<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWent on a little clash of clans and then I did a little subway surfers. I just kind of \u2014 I took my cleats off and I kind of treated \u2019em like skates \u2014 take your skates off, a hockey reference \u2014 but yeah, just kind of chilled and just waited for my next task.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Vitello on how rewarding it is to take this team to Omaha considering how he talks all the time about it being fun to come to the ball park everyday\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome. Omaha is great. You want to be able to check that box, but you know, you don\u2019t want to go there \u2014 like I said, in order to make it a good trip, you continue to make progress as a team. But you know, I\u2019m still close with those guys at Arkansas and Clay\u2019s over there. I\u2019ve texted him, you know, stuff about today. \u2018Cause again, my mind\u2019s racing like, what do we need to (do)? And the one thing he said is, you know, there\u2019s a lot on the line and you wanna win, but the thing you don\u2019t wanna lose is another day with the guys, or another trip with the guys, or another bus trip, or jumping on a plane, or an hour delay where, you know, Zander does something goofy. And so it\u2019s the type of team, you don\u2019t want to be robbed of that extra day, or extra moment, or extra hour with your guys. And fortunately this will mean that we get to press on and do that and Peyton Manning needs to call an audible as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut again, when you show up to the park, you\u2019re probably gonna see something new happen in the sport of baseball during the course of that game. And then you can either win or you can lose unless they cancel the damn thing \u2019cause of Covid, which we had that silly meeting in here. So you know, that could have happened and I think there still would\u2019ve been the same amount of love amongst the group and we would\u2019ve had to find a different way to spend time for a couple, two, three days with one another. And then we would\u2019ve looked back and again, to our degree would\u2019ve seen all the things that we\u2019ve achieved on paper, but also things behind the scenes that no one will know. And you know, a win gives you an exhilarating thrill for quite a while. If it\u2019s one like this, sometimes just for a night. But you can\u2019t take away that teammate stuff that I mentioned earlier. And regardless how things go from this point forward, that will go on for as long as we\u2019re all alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Everything Tony Vitello, Zander Sechrist and Dalton Bargo said on a super regional title<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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