Tony Vitello explains why Tennessee must balance frustration on offense after SEC Tournament

Coming off an abrupt SEC Tournament exit after a loss to Texas A&M, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello was asked about any potential frustrations for his team with the postseason looming.

The Volunteers managed just one hit against the Aggies, so it was a bit of a tough day offensively.

“Yeah, I think frustration can show up, especially when you talk about the second half of the year many things start to get — the stakes get a little higher or perceived pressure is out there,” Vitello said. “That means the frustration can mount quicker or it can escalate to a higher level.”

A little of that might have crept in at Tennessee at the SEC Tournament.

While Texas A&M pitcher Troy Wansing was sharp in working eight innings with just one hit allowed, some of it was Tennessee getting a bit impatient at the plate.

“You just started to see that with some guys, even prior to the game, swinging in the cage doesn’t go the way they want,” Vitello said. “And you’ve got a lot of emotions involved, and I think you’ve got to be careful about letting those emotions take control of you. It’s probably better to have passion, although I don’t know in Webster’s dictionary what the difference is between the two words.

“But baseball is — it’s easy to coach, it’s not easy to play. How you hold a baseball, firm but loose, it’s kind of the same thing. It’s a delicate balance of being in that box and competing but also being relaxed.”

Expectations can also do a number on players at the plate if they’re not managed properly.

It’s easy to see how that might be an issue this year for Tennessee, which is one year removed from being the hottest team in college baseball. The Volunteers won an astounding 57 games last year, that on the heels of a 50-win season the year prior.

This year hasn’t been quite as strong, with Tennessee at 38 wins on the year ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

But even if the appearance at the SEC Tournament was frustrating, it’s not like Vitello hasn’t seen his guys react and respond the right away at various points this season.

“I don’t know how our guys did it in South Carolina, but a quick turnaround, double-header, we faced one of the best pitchers,” Vitello said. “I don’t know if we had tense at-bats or not. Sometimes the other pitcher is pretty good, but they rallied and beat us in a heartbreaking loss, and our guys found a way to switch the dial pretty quick and have relaxed but competitive ABs in the next game.”

After falling out of the SEC Tournament early, Tennessee might have watched its chance to host an NCAA Regional slip by.

Still, Vitello knows if his guys take the right approach, they can get it done in the postseason.

“Whatever that formula is, by now they know it, and when the game starts, we can’t really play it for them, so it’s up to them to have the discipline to put that in place instead of getting wrapped up in self-emotion when maybe you hit a line drive right at somebody and it gets caught or for whatever reason it doesn’t go your way,” Vitello said.