Vols confident, 'built' for NCAA Tournament run
The mood around the Tennessee locker room this week has been calm.
One year after winning the SEC Tournament title, the Vols were bounced after one game by Texas A&M and their chances of being selected as a regional host were also spoiled.
But instead of dwelling on what might have been, Tennessee players have looked ahead over the last seven days, well aware that there is plenty left to play for.
“The vibe in the locker room is awesome,” right-handed pitcher Chase Dollander said. “It’s really relaxed and calm. We have that good mix between calm and competitive and so that’s one of the things the coaches look for in us. If we have that nice mix going into the regional, it’s going to be dangerous.”
Tennessee is looking to take that "mix" to Clemson, South Carolina where the Vols will compete in a regional as the 2-seed against Clemson, Charlotte and Lipscomb over the course of three to four days beginning Friday against Charlotte at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
By the time the first pitch is thrown at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, it will have been 10 days since the Vols (38-19) played their last game.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello saw the silver lining in an early exit, using the time off to prepare for an extended stay in the postseason which the Vols have used to their advantage.
“We’ll look back on this year regardless of how things go moving forward and a big thing will be illnesses or sickness,” Vitello said. “I don’t know what it is. I know other people have experienced it, but I think we’ve experienced it to the max, it started in the fall and has not stopped…If we would have stayed in Hoover the maximum amount of days, there would have been several days where guys were not available. It allowed for those guys to recover and maybe avoided other guys from getting sick. They’ve been allowed to rest their immune system and just rest in general.
"You see guys bouncing around with a little more energy and then for us as we strategize with our bullpen and also getting the pitching thing sorted, I think some guys had been pushed pretty good and were starting to feel sore. So those guys almost get to reset the same way the season will reset.”
The time off has been especially welcome for Dollander, who tossed 16 strikeouts in 82 pitches and 5.1 innings in last outing against South Carolina on May 20.
“You kind of take it with a grain of salt,” Dollander said. “I have over a week and a half of rest. Just having that mindset and how I need to plan things for this regional, is really big for me. Having that rest is always good for a pitcher.”
The Vols are riding a lot of confidence into Clemson due to its pitching staff.
Tennessee's highly touted rotation and bullpen was key in the team's turnaround, which included 15 wins in their last 19 games of the regular season, including an impressive 11-3 record in SEC play.
Well rested, the Vols believe they have the arms to make a run.
“It brings a lot of confidence, not just to the pitching staff but the whole team as well,” Dollander said. “Knowing that we can have 5-6 starters on the team that can go 5-6 innings if we need them to…We’re built for this time of year. To be honest with you, we’re ready to go.
"We’re locked and loaded. We’re in a good spot physically. We’re in a good spot and it’s going to be fun to see what we’re going to be able to do.”
The biggest area of concern for Tennessee, though has been its lack of success away from Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The Vols are 4-12 on the road this season and have struggled both defensively and at the plate.
Tennessee quelled some of those concerns in its last road series at South Carolina, taking two of three from the Gamecocks who had been dominant at Founders Park, but the Vols aren't focusing on recent history.
As far as they're concerned, a new season begins Friday.
“It’s certainly a different dynamic,” Vitello said. “It’s four teams, it’s one site. It’s a fun environment. Everybody is trying to be the best team. Our job is just to kind of manage the things that we can and try to be the best team in each of those categories, whether it be as small as your time in the cage being valuable or your body language, handling adversity. With this team in particular, I think there’s confidence in the back pocket of our guys. They’ve played some of the most tradition-based SEC programs on the road. They’ve seen what that looks like, some good, some bad.
"Ultimately, kind of put the pieces of the puzzle to win a road series against South Carolina who is hosting their own regional, so I think there is confidence in the adversity part of it, how to just go through it."
"In our eyes, in the regional, everything starts back over," Dollander said. "The record is 0-0. We have to go out there and throw our best stuff and play our best baseball in order to win."
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