Tony Vitello has caught himself several times this week watching his players take in Omaha.

It was just a week ago that Vitello’s Tennessee baseball program defeated LSU 15-6 to sweep the Knoxville Super Regional and secure a spot in the College World Series for the first time in 16 years.

His 50-win club celebrated properly.

They formed a dog-pile on top of Redmond Walsh after Jake Rucker caught the final out. They danced in the locker room. They simply hung around the facility to soak in the moment.

But on Monday morning, they flipped the switch and it’s been business since.

“We’re not here just to be here,” Vols starting left fielder Evan Russell told the media on Friday. “We kind of want to make a statement and see how far we can go.”

“I think they've been good about the grind part so far,” Vitello added. “It’s kind of up to them to relax. You can come here and you can play hard, and you can also enjoy the experience, especially now, because they've spaced it out so much more. And again, I think it comes down to decision-making, and our guys have done well with that.”

Baseball can be a grueling sport. Games are typically played on back-to-back days, particularly at the major league level, but also at the college level.

At the SEC Tournament in Hoover, the Vols played five games in five days. The College World Series is set up much differently, however.

There’s a day off in between each game leading up to the championship series. There could even be two days in between games.

“I think our guy’s routines have been more about when they come to the park,” Vitello said. “We’re going to have our meetings that we always do. And so this schedule, even though it is more spaced out, still allows for that. We had a workout (on Friday), we'll have one (on Saturday), and we'll have our close to our regular pregame on Sunday. So all in all, I think it balances out OK.”

Baseball is a game of repetitions. You can’t work out in the gym all the time, show up to the ballpark and expect to perform.

Sure, the weight room is important, but it’s more important for players to continually hit in the cages and to continually work through defensive drills.

It’s also crucial for both hitters and pitchers to face live competition. Pitchers need to keep their arms fresh, while hitters need to keep their timing down.

Although Tennessee will go a week in between games when it squares off with Virginia on Sunday, Vitello is confident in the work they were able to cram in this week.

“We crammed in a lot on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday before we got on a flight,” Vitello said. “So we were able to kind of regroup, get organized and get back into routines.

“And then since we've been here, everything is laid out, structured pretty well. I guess the difference is you know when you're asked to do things, it's bam, bam, bam, and then you end up with a chunk of free time. So it's not as spread as evenly. … You get enough repetitions for this time of year. If this was February, we'd crank up the team meetings and analysis of some things, but this time of year it's just kind of about playing.”

“I think this week was much needed for one person named Sean Hunley,” Russell added. “We’re ready for our big dogs to throw and throw a lot.

“We’re about to enter, you know, hopefully a couple days of hard grinding and a lot of high emotions. So I think we're prepared. So I think we just need to go out and play.”

It doesn’t matter who you play this time of year, each team left is going to be a handful to deal with.

The teams that survive are the ones who scratch and claw until the very end. Vitello has no doubt that at minimum, that’s what he’ll get from his team while in Omaha.

“I've been a part of coaching staffs where, whether it's the starting pitcher or the way your team plays, you don't know what you're gonna get, it's unsettling,” Vitello said. “Now instead of the normal nerves or fear of, you know, whatever it might be, or just amped-up adrenaline, all the normal things are compounded by the fact you're not really sure what's gonna happen or what you're gonna get out of your group.

“(These guys) put together their own formula that works. And each day we have a particular guy starting on the mound, we know to some extent what he's gonna do. We know what our bullpen’s gonna do for us. We know how the guys are going to behave in the dugout, how our pregame preparation is gonna be. … The guys will play hard, and they'll play for each other, and they're probably gonna have some fun while they'll do it, and we'll see where it leaves us. And because they have some skill, and because they have a ton of determination, it's left us in the win column a good amount of times, which I've been the benefactor of being around.”

First pitch between Tennessee and Virginia is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

Chad Dallas will start for the Vols. Dallas is 11-1 on the season with an ERA of 4.10.The junior right-hander has struck out 118 hitters in 96.2 innings.

Whether the Vols win or lose their opener, they’ll player Texas or Mississippi State on Tuesday.