Tennessee
What Tony Vitello Said After Tennessee Won Its SEC Opener At Alabama | Rocky Top Insider
Tennessee baseball started conference play with a bang on Friday night, knocking off Alabama 11-3 at Thomas-Sewell Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
AJ Causey was fantastic in a 6.2 inning start while Dylan Dreiling, Blake Burke and Kavares Tears all went deep in the win.
Following the win, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello discussed Causey’s strong outing, what went well for the offense and more. Here’s everything Vitello said.
More From RTI: How Tennessee Baseball Got It Done Against Alabama In Series Opener
On AJ Causey’s performance, bouncing back from two-run first inning
“Yeah, he was tremendous. Part of what happened there is he’s throwing strikes to a good team so I don’t know if it’s cost of doing business or just something that can happen at some point. He really fielded his positions well tonight. He had good presence. He reacted to a little bit of adversity well and overall just kind of seemed like he was getting better as the game was getting going. I don’t know if we had to take him out in that situation but this early in the conference season you’d like to be a little bit sure or careful with the pitch count.”
On his evaluation of the offense
“Obviously you get some highlights on both sides with both teams hitting some impressive homers but some of the best at-bats we had were the ones where there wasn’t a Sportscenter type play or action that took place. It was forcing the starter (Ben) Hess to throw a lot of pitches early in the game or battling with two strikes or Burke just fists one into left field in a difficult situation. To me, a little bit of extra toughness out of some of those at-bats went a long way tonight.”
On Dylan Dreiling’s start flying under the radar
“The good thing about Dylan is he’s incredibly selfless and we’ve kind of moved him into a bunch of different spots in the lineup, wherever we feel he’s best suited that particular day. But to be honest with you, dating back to his high school days, he’s best suited just to be in the lineup. He’s a natural hitter. He’s turned himself into a really physical kid with adding a lot of strength working with Coach Q(uentin Eberhardt) and kind of seems to be a guy that’s very stoic all the time but internally seems to be better when moments are a little bigger or maybe there’s more intensity. I don’t know if you’d call it clutch or what. I know he really enjoys being in there when the game’s on the line in the batter’s box.”
On Andrew Behnke and Aaron Combs out of the bullpen
“They did what they needed to do. Basically hold down, again, a pretty physical and talented offense that has a lot of experience. To not let a fire get started was huge because you don’t want to have to end up using three or four guys and you certainly don’t want to give a team momentum going into the next day. I don’t know if that necessarily exists but both guys did what they needed to do for us and got back into SEC play.”
Tennessee
Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.
The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.
“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.
But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.
“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”
Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.
Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.
Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.
MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.
“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”
The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the main teams when it comes to producing talent and sending talent to the NFL, which is something that has often been discovered as a standard for the football program. This is something that has been going on for quite some time and isn’t anything new to the news cycle, as the Vols have been able to produce plenty of talented prospects.
Tennessee is the home of many stars, including some of the best defensive players in SEC history. Guys like Eric Berry have found their way through the Tennessee program and onto the NFL, where they would have legendary careers. However, the defensive side of the football is the only side that has produced plenty of talent, as Tennessee has produced a lot of offensive talent as well. With the likes of Peyton Manning and company, the Vols have shown a great track record in getting talent drafted.
The Vols have produced someone who could be considered as one of the best players to play the Tide end position, as the Knoxville, Tennessee program is the home to Dallas Cowboys legend, Jason Witten. Witten is someone who made the most of his career and has been viewed as a top player at the Tide in position, and someone who is often referred to as a legend for the Cowboys, along with being a legend in the game of football as a whole.
Jason Witten Accepts TE Coach Position For Oklahoma
Witten is now taking a new gig, which has him in a huge role inside the Southeastern Conference. The Vols legend is now the tight end coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners have had some success out of their tight ends in the past, but the sky is the limit with a guy like Witten coaching up the players. Witten has the opportunity to do really well, as coaching tight ends won’t be an issue, and you have to imagine that he will be able to recruit very well, considering he has a huge name around him, as this is something that we have seen from positional coaches as well as head coaches who have done great work in the league. You have to imagine that the Vols will now have stiff competition for his son, Cooper, who is a five-star recruit for the upcoming 2027 class at the linebacker position.
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