Everything Tony Vitello Said After the Vols Got Swept at Arkansas

By Jack Foster
- Apr 16, 2023

It was a poor, poor weekend Tennessee baseball in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the Razorbacks swept the Vols 5-2, 6-3 and 7-2. Tennessee committed too many defensive mistakes in the first two games, Drew Beam allowed six runs in the first two innings in game three, and the offense was subpar at best all weekend long.

The Vols are now 5-10 in the SEC after getting swept, and the schedule remains difficult as No. 4 Vanderbilt is coming to Knoxville next weekend.

More From RTI: WATCH: Tony Vitello Reacts to Getting Swept at Arkansas

Following the Vols Sunday loss to Arkansas, head coach Tony Vitello met with the media to share his thoughts on the loss and look back on the series.

Everything Vitello said is below.

On What Went Wrong for Drew Beam:

“He didn’t throw it in the strike zone.”

On Why Drew Beam Was Left in as Long As He Was:

“I don’t have many good answers for you. He’s a pretty good pitcher, pretty good competitor, too. So, when they score runs, you left him in too long, and I don’t even know what the opposite of that is to be honest with you.”

On Chase Burns Performance:

“Yeah, he did great, which is what you want out of a guy that… it’s kind of been awkward for him. Certainly the results don’t speak to, to me, how he’s thrown the ball and the stuff he has. I think today, he came in, the whole weekend really, more relaxed and just waiting for his chance to get the ball, and he went out there and did what we asked.”

On Kavares Tears’ Weekend Performance:

“To me, you can see a difference in the at-bat when he has two strikes and when he doesn’t. He’s got a plan in there. And then two, you just see his work paying off, I mean, I’m trying to think to make sure I’m factual on this, he probably swings more than anybody. And sometimes guys get in the cage and it’s busy work, but when he swings, it’s with a purpose, and he’s constantly trying to improve. There’s been a vast amount of improvement over the course of the past 2-3 months, but ever since he got on campus, really. He’s always had the ability to drive the ball. He’s strong as all get out. But, he’s really matured as a hitter over the course of the spring.”

On if it’s Going to Be Hard to Keep Kavares Tears Out of the Lineup:

“Yeah, I think so, for sure. At different times in the year he’s been dealing with a little bit of ailment. He’s never had one injury, but when he’s healthy, we like the fact that he’s prepared from the work he puts in on top of what we do. And then he’ll compete, and he’s got some skill, too. As long as he’s healthy, he’s a guy that needs to be in the lineup.”

On Brady Slavens Triple in the Second Inning:

“We had scored first the last couple of days. It’s not, ‘You don’t ever want to score first,’ but we didn’t today…but them putting up as many runs as they did early… I didn’t notice a huge difference, but it kind of deflates your guys a little bit when the expectations are so high and you don’t meet them. Really, it made it tough in general in the first inning. But yeah, [Brady] Slavens is, you know, talk about leaving a guy in, that was the biggest at-bat of the game. Maybe if we got somebody different in there, he gets him out, but Slavens has done a lot of damage in his time at Arkansas.”

On Dylan Carter’s performance out of the bullpen for Arkansas:

“Close on all those guys. Carter threw the ball well, but on all those guys, we’re close but that doesn’t do you any good except for horseshoes and hand grenades. We need to find a way to put together a big inning. We went the whole weekend — it’s easy to say if you do the math — went the whole weekend without having a big inning. The way you do that is getting guys on base, which we did, but then you pile on and you’re able to hit with runners on and all that good stuff.”

On if the 5-10 start to conference play is more about their struggles or the competition:

“To me it’s about us. The league, I don’t know where everybody stands. We’re worried about our dugout. The league will dictate if you’re .500, it was a phenomenal year. Even a game under .500 is something you can hang your hat on in this league. Anything above it is phenomenal. We’ve got work to do if we’re going to get anywhere close to that mark. I think it’s more about us not playing as well as we can to be that far under .500 or however you want to describe it. But yeah, we’ve faced some really good teams.”

On if he worries about this team being able to keep their confidence:

“I worry about this team playing tough enough. Tough enough. We all feel good about it when we get in the shower here, which that sounds like a goofy comment, but we get on the bus, you go home, lay your head on the pillow. That’s what I want. That’s been said directly, indirectly, all that good stuff. This league will chew you up and spit you out if you’re not tough, but also the game of baseball will do the same thing, too. At the end of the day you want to be able to hang your hat on something. It’s only going to be one team that wins the last game of the year this year. If it’s hanging your hat on wins and losses only, you’re chasing a ghost.”

On how frustrating it is that it seems like nothing that he’s trying is working:

“You don’t want to make it to where it’s a guessing game everyday what’s going on, but at the same time, you don’t want to stand still in one place. It’s a group that likes to be active. I’d like to think our coaching staff is young. A lot of it by age, but also some of it by heart. We’re also out here wanting to play a kids game and we’re trying to get the rubix cube, get all the color panels at least close on one side. You’re looking for guys like KT (Kavares Tears) who have undoubtedly worked their way to be in a good position. And then when they’re in the box, whether it goes well or it doesn’t — I think he struck out once today, you know he’s in there competing and competing with a plan.”