Powerful Statement!! What Tennessee Baseball Coach Tony Vitello and Players Said About Their Walk-Off Win in the College World Series.
OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee baseball secured a dramatic win in their College World Series opener on Friday night.
Despite walking nine hitters and committing three errors, the Vols managed a 12-11 walk-off victory over Florida State, advancing to the winner’s bracket. Tennessee’s comeback from a five-run deficit made the win even more remarkable.
Here’s what head coach Tony Vitello and the Vols had to say about the walk-off win:
Kavares Tears:
“Just Burke being Burke and then Dylan being Dylan. I mean, I don’t think any of those are different than what they’ve been doing all season long and since they’ve been here… I think it just shows the belief that we have in each other and how we’re all bought in from top to bottom. I mean, that lineup started at the sixth spot and got all the way back to the fourth. So I think that just shows that, you know, we went in there with our plan and we all stuck to it.”
Billy Amick:
“It’s hard to know. Obviously, this sport kind of sucks, but like I said, we never lose confidence in ourselves and we always know we have a shot to win the game.”
Blake Burke:
“I blacked out. I just remembered swinging at the end of my bat and I thought it was going to go right to his glove, but it went past… I just wanted to turn around celebrating with my teammates. It was a lot of joy. We’re a very gritty team. And when we go out there, we always think that we can put up whatever number on the scoreboard. And we aren’t trying to put a 6 spot; we’re just trying to win every pitch. We threw a bunch of jabs all game and then threw that big punch in the ninth inning.”
Dylan Dreiling:
“With this offense, we’re always one inning away. That’s kind of our motto this year. And we just had a belief that a big inning was coming and just trusting each other.”
Christian Moore:
“Throughout the whole game, the only mindset I have is to win, get on base for my team, set the tone. I have really good hitters behind me, so I just want to get on for them… And about that last AB, I just want to fight. Down to my last strike there with two outs, just want to fight. It’s a battle. Me versus him, ‘Mano a mano.’ And I guess I won that one.”
Head Coach Tony Vitello:
“Obviously, both teams get a lot of credit for putting on a show for the fans. My understanding is the game prior to ours was like that, too, and that’s what this place is about. It’s why we get the crowds that we do here. It’s why this sport has grown into what it is.”
