Vitello hoping to enjoy 'the fruits of the labor' against No. 1 Arkansas
920 miles is how far it is from the University of Tennessee to Omaha, Nebraska, the annual site of the College World Series.
Tony Vitello has a sign that hangs behind him in his office that reminds him of just how far away he is from the pinnacle of college baseball. It’s simply a sign of a baseball that has a big ‘Power T’ on it and says ‘Omaha: 920.’
Vitello’s hopes and dreams of guiding Tennessee to Omaha for the first time since 2005 are alive and well entering the weekend. But first things first, getting past No. 1 Arkansas.
Winning or losing to the Hogs this weekend will have no bearing on Tennessee’s postseason success, but that’s not to say there isn’t a lot on the line for both teams. Along with the storylines that media members could only dream of, there’s plenty to play for.
The Vols (38-11, 17-7 SEC) and Hogs (37-9, 17-7 SEC) enter the second-to-last weekend of SEC play tied for first place atop the SEC standings. Each club is also in sole possession of their respective divisions in the conference. Tennessee is a game ahead of Vanderbilt in the SEC East, while Arkansas is a game ahead of Mississippi State.
Whoever wins this weekend’s series will be in the pole position to win the conference and earn the No. 1 seed in this year’s SEC Tournament. And for the Vols, it would solidify their chances of hosting a Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s been mentioned enough now to where I know the implications of the weekend,” Vitello told the media on Thursday. “But there’s another week to go in the SEC. If you’re in any major conference, it’s crazy what can happen down the stretch or how one weekend can turn things upside down.
“The best time to look up and see where you’re at is when you’re on the bus to Hoover. … For now, I think it’s best to keep our nose down and keep going, especially where we’re at with the history in our program. From the Rod Delmonico days to a little bit of a dip, and now we’re back on the climb. Even though I like our club a lot, we haven’t done what some of these other programs have done in recent history. To get caught looking at that stuff too much would be a mistake.”
The storylines are too good to ignore, however. Not only does Tennessee have quite a bit to play for in Vitello’s quest to continue to elevate the program, but the atmosphere at Lindsey Nelson Stadium is going to be unlike anything the program has produced in nearly two decades.
Tennessee announced on Monday that for the first time this season it was expanding to 100% stadium capacity. Then it announced on Wednesday that it would be attempting to checker the stadium for Saturday’s game.
As if what’s at stake from a competition standpoint or opening up the stadium wasn’t enough for the latest chapter of the Vitello era on Rocky Top, how about the team that Tennessee welcomes to town isn’t only the top-ranked team in the country, but it’s the school in which UT’s new fan favorite was hired away from.
“I really felt like I had a lot of breathing room,” Vitello said of his time at Arkansas. “I’ve tried to implement that up here. For the most part of why I think our kids have developed here is because that’s been copied.
“I think we have the best pitching coach in the SEC. Everybody else probably thinks they do too, but Frank (Anderson’s) resume is pretty dang good. I mention (strength coach Quentin Eberhardt) all the time. Our (assistants) — Ross Kivett and Josh Elander — and there’s other folks, too. They’re the one’s developing our players that are all of a sudden jumping up and biting the blue bloods of the conference here and there. It’s been a Xerox copy.”
Vitello doesn’t shy away from crediting Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn as one of the biggest reasons why he got the Tennessee job. It was Van Horn taking a chance on him and allowing Vitello to be Vitello that earned the young star in the business an opportunity that most coaches never see.
“If I was not in the SEC, I never would have been a candidate for this job," Vitello said. "Right or wrong, I think administrators feel the more you know this league, the better suited you are to work in the league. I sit here now at a job that I love, at a place that I love because of all that.”
Now Vitello wants to show off to his former boss what he’s been able to build on Rocky Top as it’s very similar to the juggernaut Van Horn has built at Arkansas.
It hasn’t always been easy for Vitello. He took over a program that was lost in the abyss. If Tennessee was one of the 12 teams that made the SEC Tournament, it was considered a success.
“It’s been hard to come up for air,” Vitello said of the last four years at Tennessee. “The first three years, it didn’t really feel like life existed. It was just find a way to get the next thing done. Last year, we kind of got to a point to where we were getting into a little bit of a flow and it evaporated. This year, when we picked things back up, things were so out of whack for our program and everyone else. You had to deal with protocols and all kinds of new challenges. In a weird way, it’s made for a more stressful year.
“It’s been a four-year grind, but in our league with the expectations that our fans have and administrations, and quite frankly the coaching staffs, that’s the way it’s going to be and that’s what you sign up for. If it wasn’t enjoyable, all of us wouldn’t be up here as we are today or any other day. So hopefully the fruits of the labor will be out there either this weekend. But the grind and the work that has put in has been enjoyable. The fans around here are rewarding us.”
Omaha still awaits, but for one weekend, the pinnacle of college baseball resides in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s a reality that four years ago was barely a dream.