Tennessee’s pathway to next week’s College World Series championship matchup became a lot more difficult due to Sunday’s 6-0 opening loss to Virginia, but it’s certainly attainable.
The Southeastern Conference tournament late last month proved that.
“It’s nice when things go the way that they did in the regional and in the super regional, but to be honest with you, our brand name is to bounce back and to answer,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said on a Zoom call following the loss to the Cavaliers. “There is no need to stew. There is extra time between games, so we will prepare to answer back in the fashion that they have done, and Hoover (Alabama) is an example.
“The teams here are pretty special, but the teams in our league are downright good, too. It’s an instance they can call on and learn from, and they can basically use the blueprint from there.”
The Volunteers were seeded second at the SEC tournament behind top-ranked Arkansas but stumbled in their opening game against 10th-seeded Alabama, falling 3-2 in 11 innings. Tennessee rebounded by whipping Mississippi State, Alabama and Florida by the combined score of 27-2 until falling to the Razorbacks in the title contest.