2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 22, 2021

Tony Vitello

Tennessee Volunteers

Postgame Press Conference

Texas - 8, Tennessee - 4

COACH VITELLO: Congrats to Texas. Their guys showed up and wanted to win the game, as did ours. And they were able to get the job done today. More importantly, for me, thank you to Vol fans.

The Vol Walk on Saturday is pretty impressive It's a tradition that's gone on for a long time. But these kids somehow inspired the Vol Walk for baseball to be created. And it's a pretty incredible sight and emotional thing. So, thank you to those people, but also the people that just helped boost up our program into being an Omaha-type program. We hope to be that for multiple years, not just this year.

So can't make any promises but obviously we'd like to do better next time. But don't want to have our kids to have any sort of guilt. They're good kids. You've got a guy apologizing and I'm apologizing to them, and I think that's what makes a good team is when you have each other's back and you want to see the guy next to you succeed more than you want it for yourself.

And a disappointing day. Probably a lot of social media stuff can make these guys seem like they want to be the bad boys. But they're just a bunch of kids that want to win for each other. And some guys that, off the field, you take that jersey off, they're pretty soft, and they're pretty good kids.

But when they throw it on, they do everything they can to win for Tennessee and to win for each other. And I'm honored to have been around them for 50 wins and obviously one loss too many. Thank you.

Q. When you were standing out there in the outfield, distant from your team all huddling together, what was going through your mind? And how do you keep a season like this in perspective with what you did versus how it ended?

COACH VITELLO: I think it's hard because, no disrespect to the opponent, just didn't envision it today. Even in the ninth inning, maybe you get two outs and nobody's on, you start thinking what do I say to the guys or anything like that.

I mean, nothing's packed, I can tell you that. I have no idea how much longer we'll stay here, but I feel unprepared. Kind of like our two games. We didn't play that great even though a lot of preparation time was put in.

If the results don't go well you have to look at yourself as a coach and wish you made different decisions because the ones you made didn't work. But you get to that point, I really didn't have anything intelligent to say to the guys. I just, the old cliché, man, you go to a place, you'd like to leave it better than you found it. And holy cow did these kids do that.

I was just out there looking after them, wanting to be able to do something to help, but at that point they just wanted to share some time with one another. And I mentioned to them in the locker room there that we need to do something else to get together as a group rather than just kind of slamming the door shut on this thing, whether it's honoring the fans or the team or just getting together for a meal and being together one more time.

Q. Was anything about -- I know emotion has fed you all as a team so many times this season in a positive way. Did any of that create any negative things today? Or were those two separate things, the execution not being great and some of the emotion?

COACH VITELLO: I don't think so. I think it's either there or it's not. And there's no way I can count on one hand total or how many digits you've got. I mean, two, three times the guys didn't show up with kind of their attitude or their behavior.

I mean certainly there was fluctuation and skill and performance. But they just found a way for almost 70 games, however many it was, to show up and play Vol baseball, if that's what you want to call it. And we didn't do that Game 1 here in Omaha for whatever reason. We sat and talked forever. It just wasn't there.

So the goal today obviously is to win the game. But we kind of put the scoreboard in our back pocket and just wanted to make sure the guys showed up with the attitude that we're used to. And they did that. And so that's why the emotion was high and the way things were. And I think you get deflated in certain situations. But I didn't see anything that was like a big weight on our shoulders holding us down, for lack of a better phrase.

Q. From your vantage point, what did you see on the play at the plate in the fourth inning? Did you feel that kind of took some juice out of your team or anything like that?

COACH VITELLO: Well, I thought it was a really clean relay. Jordan Beck got over there in a hurry. Got it to our infielders. They make a clean throw. Pav makes a clean tag. So you kind of anticipated the thing being an out.

Unfortunately, we've got replay in the dugout, and I think you're better off as a team or coaches not seeing that stuff when they throw it up on the scoreboard or in the corner.

But obviously it's one more run. I don't have a scale to weigh how much of a punch in the gut that was to our guys or how much of a detriment that was, other than just what was on the scoreboard. But 5-4 is different than 6-4.

Q. Just kind of looking at where you guys stood all season long and coming into this. How did you think -- two questions, how did you think your batters were looking at pitches coming into today and getting through the Texas game? And then also, when you kind of look back at your time this season with Tennessee, what are you going to remember the most about being around these kids?

COACH VITELLO: Sure. I think with the hitters, the things they did different today was kind of stayed to the baseball a little bit more. I don't know if you would call it staying within yourself, from my vantage point. But guys got off cleaner swings. They were more sure of themselves and their takes.

And really, again, I think they just got back to being themselves. Obviously it wasn't good enough, but it wasn't anything in the superstar side, but it also wasn't where you saw guys doing things on certain pitches that you would question.

And then as far as what I would remember with these guys, that's a tough thing to point out one deal, other than as a coach you're always trying to learn. And I learned a ton from the group on just how to get things done, how to act, how to respond in certain situations.

And then you know -- there's a meme for all the people that don't like us, can't see any tears yet, but was locked up in that condo for a long time, man, a long time. And then we had to watch these guys hit BP on the field by themselves, play catch, couldn't do anything. And then you got to be around them for a whole year. And it was a pleasure cruise.

As much as you get angry at certain things or you gotta go to COVID testing and stuff like that, it was a good time, it was a really good time to be around those guys. And they created something.

So you get handed the baton. You run with it. That's one thing and kudos to all those people that have done that, but these kids literally invented things. And they did it in a really fun fashion.

Q. That fourth inning, you mentioned the perception about you guys being the bad boys and whatnot, when Ross gets tossed there, are you at all surprised that the guys didn't respond to that well and kind of all the bad luck and whatever happened after that moment?

COACH VITELLO: Just because a guy gets thrown out doesn't mean that the next guy is going to hit a home run. I think Ross acted like he did all year long. And a couple of those guys know him from his playing days. So maybe that's kind of a thing.

But the guy was brought on to give us a brand name. So from my vantage point, from prior to, I certainly appreciate the work that was put into the program before we got here. But in my opinion, there needed to be a little more spice. That's why that guy was added.

And I think he brings that every day. So in that particular situation, the eyes were on him and he was frustrated. We brought in a guy to hit the mitt and I think Ross felt like he was hitting the mitt. If anything, standing up for his guy and also ensuring that we at least brought some passion to the field today, so whether it went awry or we misbehaved or whatever it may be, no one's getting on the bus going back to the hotel saying we didn't show up or we weren't into it or we didn't have any fight to us.

Q. What did you see from Blade and Sean that led to a lack of command there on the mound there? Did you think Sean just ran out of juice there at the end?

COACH VITELLO: I think Blade was throwing the ball all right. They were on him for whatever reason. I think he was getting frustrated about certain things. And then a third thing was there was just a handful of pitches where he didn't have the conviction that I've seen out of him in the past few weeks. That was just kind of my read.

And we felt good about the fact that it was a start to a new game. And the whole goal was again to get somebody out there to hit the mitt. And I think in both situations the big thing was we were one pitch away from getting out of two innings that a lot of damage was done. And we threw it over the plate, which is what got us here. They were able to put a couple of good swings on balls.

Q. Have you had any communication with LSU regarding the vacant coaching position? And do you expect to be the head coach at Tennessee next season?

COACH VITELLO: No I've not, had zero. And I just made an idiot out of myself at least for all the masculine folks watching, by getting teary-eyed about these kids. That's where my focus has been.

Like I said, the social life hasn't been existent for quite some time well before our opening-day game. Part of that is I want to do as good of a job for the school that gave me a chance. And I want to do as good of a job for a group that we thought could go pretty far.

And the way the season evolved, like I said, the emotion's certainly not fake, I don't know if it's embarrassing or not, but it's coming from a place that's my number one concern is these guys. And I'll go back to the room and anyone who knows me, it will be bad how much I critique myself and it hurts. So I'm certainly not going to waste energy before a game or any other game having regrets that my mind wasn't right or we weren't prepared the right way to go into whatever game it might be.