Tennessee left no room for doubt in its SEC Tournament rematch with Alabama, dominating the Crimson Tide from the first pitch and earning its second straight run rule victory (seven innings).
Tennessee 11 11 0
Alabama 0 2 2
W — Blade Tidwell, L — Landon Green
Notes
Tennessee entered the week in Hoover with just two ever double digit wins in the SEC Tournament. Three days into the tournament and they’ve doubled that number, getting some revenge on Alabama after Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss.
The Vols’ offense came out fast, scoring two runs in the second and five runs in the third to blow up the game. Tennessee’s power showed up, going deep four times from four different players. Luc Lipcius, Evan Russell, Liam Spence and Max Ferguson all went deep. Spence’s home run was his first since his first at-bat in SEC play.
It was another strong day at the plate for Russell and Gilbert who have been two of the only Vols struggling as of late. Entering yesterday’s game Russell had one hit in his last 12 at-bats while Gilbert had one hit in his last 13 at-bats. Russell went 3-for-4 at the plate today while Gilbert went 2-for-4.
Blade Tidwell was just fantastic again today. The freshman threw six scoreless innings allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. Tidwell was consistently throwing 98 MPH late into his outing and, in my opinion, is Tennessee’s best pitcher entering the regional. In Tidwell’s last five starts he has a 2.22 ERA. If you take away the runs scored against him in the eighth inning against Arkansas and South Carolina that number drops to 1.11.
Tennessee will head to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1995. Vols will face Florida at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Quotes
Tony Vitello on the importance of the two run rule victories in saving pitching for the rest of the weekend
“That's why I was bringing up Alabama, the thing is a grind. It's on your catcher. The guys are out there in the heat. Schedules fluctuate, you've got pregame. It's a grind. So when you look at the last two days, maybe the biggest take-away -- obviously, you'd like to win the ball game, but maybe the biggest take-away is you do not have a bunch of fresh arms going into tomorrow and also a little more fresh legs underneath our position players.”
Vitello on the offense the last two days and Gilbert and Russell’s emergence
“It's important. They're right in the meat of the order. You never know. We could position guys differently. We've done it before during the year. But I think there's a comfort zone right now for some guys in the spot they're in, and the important thing is not to overthink situations or where they're at in the lineup and just go out there and play ball or be true to who they are, and they'll be just fine. Everyone knows Drew is as intense as it gets, so when he goes outside of himself because of that, he doesn't do quite as well. But what you've seen in the tournament is him gathering himself a few times and really being an under control athlete. It's a pretty good weapon when it is just that. And Evan, you saw how far he can drive the ball today, and he's got a pretty good number of extra base hits and home runs, but a lot of that comes from facing SEC arms that, you know, the old Little League phrase, let them provide the power. Today was a special sweet swing. It wasn't a bad pitch. Just kind of dropped his hands on it, and because he is a strong dude, as much as I hate to admit that, the ball carried for him. So the proper amount of effort level is key to both of those guys. For them to find that in the postseason or in the conference tournament when there is a heightened sense of intensity and all that other good stuff, it's impressive, and it's incredibly crucial for our group.”
Vitello on what he saw from Blade Tidwell today and the last few starts
"Yeah, one and the same, if it's okay for me to say. Physically, he came in a gifted kid and really unique for his age, how professional he is in his routines, but getting with Frank and Coach Q, our strength coach, those things blossomed even more. Then what happened as the season started was learning to manage situations and call it emotions or adversity and things like that. There was a slow building up process to getting better and better till conference started, and then he gutted through a great win at Georgia. Then after that, people start to adjust in the league, different situations come up, lineups are loaded, and he needed to kind of grow or evolve based off of what's in our conference and therefore what's the best out there in the country. Today I think you saw all those things that, again, leading up to the season, he's got going for him, but now a little bit more mature approach, very consistent approach, kept his emotions under control, delivery was smooth the whole game. I think he's grown up in front of all fans' eyes, and I think they're enjoying watching him. Today was pretty dang good. I think it was reminiscent, to be honest with you, ironically, of A.J. Puk. We were in that dugout a few years back at my old job, and Puk had one of those performances where you feel like you're fighting up against a Major Leaguer. It was pretty special to watch Blade in that form today."
Vitello on the pitching plan the rest of the weekend
“Really excited. You've seen, if you follow our team, how we've used guys on Tuesdays and in other situations too. I said it to the group yesterday, kind of been foaming at the mouth to at least have the opportunity to do that. Hopefully, I don't screw it up, but we've got some guys that are fresh, some guys that have experience that will be ready to go. We'll just kind of sit down at the hotel as a coaching staff and start with whatever we think the first option is and look at it. The first option is send Blade Tidwell back out there. If he says no, we'll go to option two.”
Blade Tidwell on struggling against Alabama in the regular season and having a strong performance today
“I really just thought I got a chance at revenge, honestly. The outing wasn't good when I played at 'Bama, so I've been thinking about it this week. If I played them again, I was going to get my revenge.”
Tidwell on how much confidence he’s gained the last five starts
“Yeah, after the Kentucky outing is when I really started getting a lot of confidence. I think it's carried over well the last five weeks. This is getting to the nit and grit grind of the season, so it's been fun.”
Evan Russell on the offense’s success and if there was any motivation after how Wednesday ended
“You had a team that wasn't ready to go home. You had a lineup that was ready to get back out there and play a good Alabama team. I think it showed with the swings we took. I think it showed with the at bats we took. Everyone was kind of locked in, and we were on the attack mode. I think that's what was the difference this game.”
Russell on how impressive Tidwell has been as of late and the growth he’s had this year
“He's still throwing 98 miles an hour. At the beginning of the season, he was throwing 98 miles an hour. His stuff hasn't improved, hasn't gotten worse. He's still throwing the same talent-wise, but that dude has grown mentally and with a confidence that you can't fake, especially in this game. You can't just wake up out of bed and tell yourself, I'm going to have a great day. Confidence is gained over time. It's gained throughout the season. Watching this dude turn into a completely different pitcher, you know it's special. The best is yet to come for that kid.”
Tennessee 11 11 0
Alabama 0 2 2
W — Blade Tidwell, L — Landon Green
Notes
Tennessee entered the week in Hoover with just two ever double digit wins in the SEC Tournament. Three days into the tournament and they’ve doubled that number, getting some revenge on Alabama after Wednesday’s heartbreaking loss.
The Vols’ offense came out fast, scoring two runs in the second and five runs in the third to blow up the game. Tennessee’s power showed up, going deep four times from four different players. Luc Lipcius, Evan Russell, Liam Spence and Max Ferguson all went deep. Spence’s home run was his first since his first at-bat in SEC play.
It was another strong day at the plate for Russell and Gilbert who have been two of the only Vols struggling as of late. Entering yesterday’s game Russell had one hit in his last 12 at-bats while Gilbert had one hit in his last 13 at-bats. Russell went 3-for-4 at the plate today while Gilbert went 2-for-4.
Blade Tidwell was just fantastic again today. The freshman threw six scoreless innings allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out six. Tidwell was consistently throwing 98 MPH late into his outing and, in my opinion, is Tennessee’s best pitcher entering the regional. In Tidwell’s last five starts he has a 2.22 ERA. If you take away the runs scored against him in the eighth inning against Arkansas and South Carolina that number drops to 1.11.
Tennessee will head to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1995. Vols will face Florida at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow.
Quotes
Tony Vitello on the importance of the two run rule victories in saving pitching for the rest of the weekend
“That's why I was bringing up Alabama, the thing is a grind. It's on your catcher. The guys are out there in the heat. Schedules fluctuate, you've got pregame. It's a grind. So when you look at the last two days, maybe the biggest take-away -- obviously, you'd like to win the ball game, but maybe the biggest take-away is you do not have a bunch of fresh arms going into tomorrow and also a little more fresh legs underneath our position players.”
Vitello on the offense the last two days and Gilbert and Russell’s emergence
“It's important. They're right in the meat of the order. You never know. We could position guys differently. We've done it before during the year. But I think there's a comfort zone right now for some guys in the spot they're in, and the important thing is not to overthink situations or where they're at in the lineup and just go out there and play ball or be true to who they are, and they'll be just fine. Everyone knows Drew is as intense as it gets, so when he goes outside of himself because of that, he doesn't do quite as well. But what you've seen in the tournament is him gathering himself a few times and really being an under control athlete. It's a pretty good weapon when it is just that. And Evan, you saw how far he can drive the ball today, and he's got a pretty good number of extra base hits and home runs, but a lot of that comes from facing SEC arms that, you know, the old Little League phrase, let them provide the power. Today was a special sweet swing. It wasn't a bad pitch. Just kind of dropped his hands on it, and because he is a strong dude, as much as I hate to admit that, the ball carried for him. So the proper amount of effort level is key to both of those guys. For them to find that in the postseason or in the conference tournament when there is a heightened sense of intensity and all that other good stuff, it's impressive, and it's incredibly crucial for our group.”
Vitello on what he saw from Blade Tidwell today and the last few starts
"Yeah, one and the same, if it's okay for me to say. Physically, he came in a gifted kid and really unique for his age, how professional he is in his routines, but getting with Frank and Coach Q, our strength coach, those things blossomed even more. Then what happened as the season started was learning to manage situations and call it emotions or adversity and things like that. There was a slow building up process to getting better and better till conference started, and then he gutted through a great win at Georgia. Then after that, people start to adjust in the league, different situations come up, lineups are loaded, and he needed to kind of grow or evolve based off of what's in our conference and therefore what's the best out there in the country. Today I think you saw all those things that, again, leading up to the season, he's got going for him, but now a little bit more mature approach, very consistent approach, kept his emotions under control, delivery was smooth the whole game. I think he's grown up in front of all fans' eyes, and I think they're enjoying watching him. Today was pretty dang good. I think it was reminiscent, to be honest with you, ironically, of A.J. Puk. We were in that dugout a few years back at my old job, and Puk had one of those performances where you feel like you're fighting up against a Major Leaguer. It was pretty special to watch Blade in that form today."
Vitello on the pitching plan the rest of the weekend
“Really excited. You've seen, if you follow our team, how we've used guys on Tuesdays and in other situations too. I said it to the group yesterday, kind of been foaming at the mouth to at least have the opportunity to do that. Hopefully, I don't screw it up, but we've got some guys that are fresh, some guys that have experience that will be ready to go. We'll just kind of sit down at the hotel as a coaching staff and start with whatever we think the first option is and look at it. The first option is send Blade Tidwell back out there. If he says no, we'll go to option two.”
Blade Tidwell on struggling against Alabama in the regular season and having a strong performance today
“I really just thought I got a chance at revenge, honestly. The outing wasn't good when I played at 'Bama, so I've been thinking about it this week. If I played them again, I was going to get my revenge.”
Tidwell on how much confidence he’s gained the last five starts
“Yeah, after the Kentucky outing is when I really started getting a lot of confidence. I think it's carried over well the last five weeks. This is getting to the nit and grit grind of the season, so it's been fun.”
Evan Russell on the offense’s success and if there was any motivation after how Wednesday ended
“You had a team that wasn't ready to go home. You had a lineup that was ready to get back out there and play a good Alabama team. I think it showed with the swings we took. I think it showed with the at bats we took. Everyone was kind of locked in, and we were on the attack mode. I think that's what was the difference this game.”
Russell on how impressive Tidwell has been as of late and the growth he’s had this year
“He's still throwing 98 miles an hour. At the beginning of the season, he was throwing 98 miles an hour. His stuff hasn't improved, hasn't gotten worse. He's still throwing the same talent-wise, but that dude has grown mentally and with a confidence that you can't fake, especially in this game. You can't just wake up out of bed and tell yourself, I'm going to have a great day. Confidence is gained over time. It's gained throughout the season. Watching this dude turn into a completely different pitcher, you know it's special. The best is yet to come for that kid.”
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