KNOXVILLE — Dave Serrano emerged from the clubhouse a satisfied man.
Tennessee’s first-year baseball coach wants to rebuild a broken program on the foundation of pitching and defense, and that’s what he got Sunday afternoon.
“I think this was our best game of the year, to be honest with you,” Serrano said after the Volunteers’ 10-2 win against Seton Hall at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. “I’m very proud of them for that. In my mind, I keep trying to prepare them that we can’t get complacent, and I thought we got a little complacent in Saturday’s game early on.
“But I thought from the first pitch today we were prepared and ready to play. I just thought we were on it as a team from the first pitch.”
The three-game sweep of the defending Big East Conference tournament champion Pirates gave UT its seventh straight win to begin Serrano’s debut season, and this team can match the 2003 Vols for the best start in program history with a win Tuesday against Middle Tennessee State. The first showcase opportunity for these new-look Vols is next weekend at Houston College Classic, where they will play Houston, Rice and Texas at the Astros’ Minute Maid Park.