KNOXVILLE – Tony Vitello’s second baseball team at Tennessee will be more experienced than his first.
The former longtime assistant also should benefit from the experience he gained in his first year as a head coach.
The Volunteers start their 2019 season with a three-game series against Appalachian State in Knoxville, with the opener at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s game is at 2 p.m. and the finale is at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Seventy-nine percent of the starts for Tennessee baseball players last season came from underclassmen, giving the Vols what should be a returning lineup that has been through it. Vitello’s pitching staff returns its three primary starters, as well as all eight pitchers who started at least once and every pitcher who recorded a win a year ago.
The Vols improved their depth by signing some recruits they expect to be quality freshmen, including Cleveland High School’s Camden Sewell, a 6-foot-5, 184-pounder Vitello said could contribute immediately. Sewell was rated the No. 4 overall prospect and the No. 2 right-hander in the state of Tennessee in the 2018 signing class.