When Kavares Tears smacked a grand slam in the 16th inning of Tennessee’s exhibition against Wake Forest on Sunday, it didn’t surprise Tony Vitello.

Tears had already shown his coach what he’s capable of.

“(Tears) has been doing it (in the) days leading up to this,” Vitello said. “So it’s nice that he had the confidence from what he’s done so far this fall. It’s been a short one to this point, and got out there and did the same thing he’s been doing. The guy can hit the ball as hard as anyone and he’s athletic, he can play all over the field. So I look forward to seeing him make his progress.”

Tears’ grand slam was a highlight moment of the Vols’ exhibition at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The 18 innings were technically scored as two games, with Wake Forest winning the first, 5-4, and Tennessee claiming the second, 9-4.

Though other Tennessee players shined, too, with Christian Moore tallying two solo homers, Tears provided the biggest swing of the day with his four-run blast.

“(Tears’) movements are more fluid. He’s gotten stronger, but at the same time, he’s kind of gotten looser,” Vitello said. “That’s a difficult combo to match together, and so it’s allowed him to play different positions, be better on the bases. As far as at the plate, he’s always had the ability. It’s just getting repetitions.

“I know it’s weird to bring it up, but we are still kind of in this weird COVID phase where some of these guys got a little bit of the short end of the stick in high school, and then they get to college and the rosters are a little backed up and they get the short end of the stick on reps in college. As he accumulates reps, it could be a lot of fun to watch him play. Even when he’s not out there, he’s a lot of fun to be around.”

Jared Dickey, Dylan Dreiling, Logan Chambers, Alex Stanwich, Charlie Taylor and Ryan Miller also tallied RBIs for the Vols, with Dreiling’s coming off of a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth.

“(Christian Moore), (Blake) Burke, the guys who were a part of last year being on the field, I think have only made progress,” Vitello said. “But there’s clearly spots available for other guys to step up and show a way they can contribute. It doesn’t necessarily have to be with the bat. It can be with the glove or be a good base runner or be a guy who can execute.”

Tennessee rotated pitchers each inning, with Chase Dollander starting the exhibition on the mound.

Chase Burns and Aaron Combs allowed two-run homers by Wake Forest in the second and third innings, respectively, while the Demon Deacons tallied an RBI groundout against Kirby Connell in the seventh and an RBI single against Andrew Behnke in the 16th.

Vitello was pleased for his pitching staff, especially its younger members, to have the chance to work against Wake Forest, which traditionally boasts powerful offenses.

“(I liked) just that they didn’t freak out,” Vitello said. “If it’s your first time on our mound, it doesn’t matter how old you are, but in particular, the freshmen I’m referring to, nobody other than the exception of maybe one guy got out there and made it complicated.

“They treated it like it’s been when they’re facing our hitters in a scrimmage when there’s no fans, no scouts, and they got good production out of it.”

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