Tennessee baseball came up short on Sunday as it fell to Wake Forest 7-6 in the Knoxville Regional.
This creates a winner-take-all game seven on Monday with the victor headed to the super regionals.
Here's what Vols coach Tony Vitello, infielder Andrew Fischer and pitcher Brandon Arvidson said after the game.
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HC - Tony Vitello
Opening Statement…
“Not used to being the visiting team on our home field. Usually if we have a bottom of the ninth—or, I'd say, by percentage—we feel good about it. Not a good way to end the game and there were sloppy parts to it, whether it be the weather or other things that were going on, but otherwise a pretty good back-and-forth battle. [There were] a lot of things that they did well and then we’d bounce back and do things well, but obviously they had the last word at the bottom of the ninth and it went their way. Kudos to them. We'll await our time and all the other details that come with tomorrow.”
On what he has learned about this team…
“To me it's a group of guys that you want to be around. To be honest with you, it's the time of year where teams’ seasons are ending, or they already have ended, and if you coach more than a year you start to vary on how you feel about the end. Sometimes it's good to close the book and move on. That's unfortunate, but that's the case sometimes. I said something to these guys, but to me, this is a group that, despite the struggles at certain times and other things, is a group you want to be around. Every day, I think they've improved. It doesn't always show on the scoreboard. That ain't the way this competition thing works. But in the hallways and the meetings and the pre-game and even some of the things going post-game, it's a group of guys that have continually gotten better. I think they enjoy the brotherhood that's amongst the team, but also the coaching staff. We’re anxious to play again.”
On what went wrong in the ninth inning and the team’s response…
“I thought it was great. You can get overly emotional or you could panic. We lose a fly ball, or other various things could cause you to get derailed. And I don't think that took place. If Marek [Houston] hits that ball to Gavin [Kilen] instead of to his left, you get a double-play ball and that’s a little bit different. And then the bunts they did execute, they executed perfectly. That was one that could have went two ways. Manny [Marin] could have got it, or Nate [Snead] could have got it and tried to go to first base. But at that point, when you're at the bottom of the ninth, your brain is so wrapped around the fact that the guy at second base is the winning run. So, here's the handle in that situation, first and second, they bunted a little bit better. But, they bested us today.”
On what he liked about Dylan Loy and Brandon Arvidson tonight…
“D[ylan] Loy did a good job for us. Our goal was not to burn D Loy, to use him as an opener. He’s started here many times. He's pitching about the biggest game you can possibly pitch in, whether it's SEC or overall postseason. I thought he did a good job for us. We got the ball in the hands of the guy we wanted to and he did his thing and it was great for us. All you can ask for your starter is to give yourself a chance to win. [Chris] Stamos and [AJ] Causey did that as a package duo last year and these two guys did it as a duo this year. Their guy threw the ball well in the bottom of the ninth and our guy was throwing the ball really well, but the first pitch of the inning didn't go the way we wanted. And then some things piled up.”
On Tennessee’s starting pitcher for tomorrow’s game…
“We haven't talked about who would start, but there are some guys that are fresh [and that] makes you feel good about that. And then there are some guys that are very valuable pitchers and it's up to them whether they want the ball or not. I already know one of them has been in my ear, but we'll see whoever else wants to be involved. Whoever else not. I was a pitching coach before and some guys just flat out can't do it. Some guys are excited to. And then on a day like tomorrow you just get the out that's in front of you. One out at a time would be a little too ‘t-shirty’ to say, but you just get the out that's in front of you. And then we move on to whatever the next thing is.”
On whether the team can draw on last year’s loss to Evansville…
“Yeah, those guys who were a part of that team know that I've talked about that a lot with this team. Recently we talked about , everyone says, ‘Get hot and get going’ or ‘Do this, do that,’ all these catch phrases, but each day is separate unto itself. It's like you're playing roulette in Vegas. Just because one roll goes one way, they're all mutually exclusive. Certainly today affects tomorrow, but it's a new day. It's a fresh start. I've said to the media and the team before, there's no better day than opening day in baseball, and you can treat every day like that if you so choose. A big part of it last year was getting a fresh start and attacking that day, in particular. We did not play as good of baseball as we needed to and Evansville was really good on that day. I wanted to do my part and help steer the guys in the direction that I thought would be helpful that day, but they got out of the car in the parking lot and it was like that. We've talked about it before, but the guys that were on that team can certainly help in that category.”
On his message to the team after the game...
“Wake had a great day today. They had a lot of reps pile up and so they had a good day today. Tomorrow we'll start anew. Whatever time we're selected to play, the guys just need to do what they need to do before the game. You know, make it our day.”
INF - Andrew Fischer
On the energy level at Lindsey Nelson Stadium…
“There was a great showing by the crowd today. I think a part of it, too, is—[saying this from the perspective] that I played against this team last year—the crowd is on top of you. It’s just the way this stadium is built and they’re extremely loud. It’s kind of hard to tell the difference with how loud this stadium historically gets. It brings a huge home-field advantage. You go to last year’s regional that they played in, the opposing pitcher couldn’t even hear the PitchCom in his ear. I don’t think our fans need an invitation to get loud. With the season on the line tomorrow, I expect it to be almost double in noise.”
On his confidence on the team leaning on its experiences to approach tomorrow’s game…
“There’s no doubt in my mind we're going to show up and play our best baseball tomorrow. This is a group of guys that are hungry for it and there's enough talent in this locker room to pretty much do whatever we want. So, again, I say this in every single interview—nothing this team does surprises me.”
LHP - Brandon Arvidson
On what he has learned about this team…
“Just how close-knit everyone is. Going off what coach [Tony Vitello] said, sometimes by the end of the year you’re ready to pack it up. This group, however, is so special because we’re so tight with each other. Every day is an amazing experience and I’m blessed to be here. We’re not ready to go home yet.”
On what was going right for him on the mound…
“Nothing really, to start, I had to make some adjustments. I think the weather was getting to me a little bit and I just would not adjust to the mound. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself when you're getting kind of banged up a little bit. But then one of those innings where Fish [Andrew Fischer] hits that two-run a homer, it’s like, ‘How can you feel sorry for yourself when these guys have all got your back?’ That's what kept me in so long, was just their ability to have my back and be there for me.”
On the importance of having someone like Andrew Fischer to bolster confidence…
“He’s in it every pitch, like an ultra-competitor. Whether we’re up 10 or down 10, he wants to win. We’ve got a lineup full of those guys. Sometimes the results aren’t there, but we care so much and we want to win. Tonight, we got punched in the mouth a little bit and there was just no quit. We came back—and as a guy on the mound, that’s huge. When your offense has your back, you don’t feel like you have to be a perfectionist. You just play a little freer.”
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