The Official Tennessee @ Mizzou Weekend Series Thread 3/17-3/19 (Fri. 4PM EST) (Sat. Postponed) (Sun. 2PM EST Doubleheader) (All games SEC NET+)

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NO SIR EEE

NO SIR EEE

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Tennessee Volunteers (15-3) Overall (0-0) SEC
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@
Missouri Tigers Overall (13-3) SEC (0-0)
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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The 2023 SEC Opening Weekend is here and with it the second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers take to the road to open conference play, traveling to Missouri to face the Tigers in a three-game set beginning Friday afternoon at Taylor Stadium.

The Vols (15-3, 0-0 SEC) begin their conference campaign and defense of the 2022 SEC regular-season championship after posting a 25-5 record and rolling their way through the league a season ago.

With temperatures forecasted in the 30s and 40s throughout the weekend, the Vols will look to keep the bats hot, having homered multiple times in nine of their last 11 games. Tennessee also will look to maintain its strong defense as the Big Orange has only committed eight errors in 2023 on 608 chances.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE/PROJECTED STARTING PITCHERS
Game 1 – Friday, March 17 (4 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. CT)
RHP Chase Dollander (3-1, 2.45 ERA) vs. RHP Chandler Murphy (2-1, 3.48 ERA)

Game 2 – Saturday, March 18 (3 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. CT)
RHP Chase Burns (2-0, 1.88 ERA) vs. RHP Rorik Maltrud (1-0, 3.07 ERA)

Game 3 – Sunday, March 19 (2 p.m. ET | 1 p.m. CT)
RHP Drew Beam (3-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. TBD

BROADCAST INFO
All three games of the weekend series will stream on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app with Noah Reed (PxP) and Spencer Jurgens (Analyst) on the call. The online broadcast can be accessed on any mobile device through WatchESPN. WatchESPN can be accessed through the ESPN App, or online at espn.com/watch.

Fans can also listen to the Voice of Tennessee Baseball, John Wilkerson, call the action on the Vol Network (FM 99.1/AM 990) or via a free audio stream on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics Gameday App.

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Missouri leads, 14-13
in Knoxville: 7-8
in Columbia: 6-6
at Neutral Sites: 0-0
Last 10 Meetings: 7-3
Last Meeting: W, 4-3 (April 10, 2022, in Knoxville)

NOTABLE
SEC OPENING WEEKEND
After another successful start to the year, the Vols enter SEC play with a 15-3 record. In each of the past five seasons, Tennessee has entered league play with at least 15 wins: (17-1 in 2019, 15-2 in 2020, 15-3 in 2021, 16-1 in 2022, 15-3 in 2023).

The Big Orange will be looking to notch their third straight series win on SEC Opening Weekend after taking two of three at Georgia in 2021 and sweeping South Carolina at home last season.

Tennessee is 12-16 in SEC openers on the road since 1980 and 33-45 overall in SEC openers.

LOVING THE LONG BALL
The Vols have been on a major power surge entering SEC play with multiple homers in nine of their last 11 games, including six games of three or more long balls in that span

BIG ORANGE SEC DOMINANCE
Tennessee put together one of the most dominant seasons in SEC history in 2022, winning both the SEC Regular Season and SEC Tournament championships for the first time since 1995. The Vols posted their best record in league play in program history, going 25-5 en route to winning the SEC regular season title by six games, and the eastern division crown by 10 games, both of which are the largest margins in conference history. The Vols have won the last two SEC Eastern Division crowns and will look to make it three in a row this season for just the second time in program history (1993-95).

Tennessee was the first team to start SEC play 12-0 in the history of the conference, surpassing the previous record of 11-0 held by LSU (1991), Ole Miss (1964) and Alabama (1940). UT is 45-15 in SEC play over the past two seasons, by far the best record in the league. The only other program with 40 wins in that span is Arkansas (40-20). The next closest Eastern Division team is Vanderbilt at 33-26.

VFLs IN THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Two VFLs represented the Vols in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Liam Spence and Team Australia made it through the Group Stage before being eliminated by Cuba in the quarterfinals, while Julio Borbon served as the first base coach for the Dominican Republic.

OPPONENT SCOUT
Missouri Tigers
  • 2023 Record: 13-3 (0-0 SEC)
  • 2022 Record: 28-23 (10-20 SEC)
  • 2022 Postseason: -
  • 2023 SEC Preseason Poll: 7th Eastern Division
  • 2023 Preseason All-SEC
    • First Team: Luke Mann (3B)
  • Head Coach: Steve Bieser (Fourth season)
  • Stat Leaders:
    • Average: Dalton Bargo (.382)
    • OBP: Hank Zeisler (.500)
    • SLG: Hank Zeisler (.500)
    • Hits: Luke Mann (23)
    • Runs: Luke Mann, Hank Zeisler (18)
    • RBIs: Hank Zeisler (23)
    • Doubles: Ty Wilmsmeyer (5)
    • Triples: Dalton Bargo (2)
    • Home Runs: Hank Zeisler (8)
    • ERA: Logan Lunceford (2.38)
    • WHIP: Zach Franklin (0.73)
    • BAA: Zach Franklin (.140)
    • Innings Pitched: Chandler Murphy (20.2)
    • Strikeouts: Zach Franklin (29)
    • Wins: Zach Franklin (3)
    • Saves: Four tied (1)
ON DECK
Tennessee returns to Rocky Top and welcomes Western Carolina to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday, March 21, at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets for non-conference home games can be purchased at AllVols.com.
 
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#17
#17
Exactly one year before Tennessee hired Tony Vitello.


Vitello 'happy' as a Hog

CC78C4A3-371F-410C-9ACA-B5A7C83ACD9C.jpeg



July 2016

Arkansas assistant baseball coach Tony Vitello interviewed for the head coaching job at his alma mater Missouri.

He was never offered the job, he said Friday.

Vitello said he interviewed for the position last month at a hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported he was one of the favorites for the job before Missouri hired former Southeast Missouri State coach Steve Bieser on Thursday.

"Once I walked out of that [meeting], I knew I wasn't a viable candidate," Vitello said. "I'd love to look like the most loyal Razorback of all-time and I say I turned them down, but I was never offered the job ... and at no point was I ever all-in on saying yes if it was offered."

The Post-Dispatch reported Vitello had the backing of several influential alumni at Missouri, including major league All-Stars Max Scherzer and Ian Kinsler. Vitello, a St. Louis native, played three seasons at Missouri and was an assistant coach with the Tigers in 2003-2010.

Vitello indicated he didn't seek the position. He said he has aspirations to be a head coach one day but isn't in a hurry.

"I've never been very active, never pumped out my resume," Vitello said. "If somebody comes to me with something I can't refuse, then I'd have to say yes. Until then, I'm focused on what I'm doing. I'm pretty damn happy at Arkansas. I know I get paid to say that, but it's different than the other two places I've worked at."

Vitello, 36, coached three seasons at TCU, helping assemble a team that has made the past three College World Series. He has coached at Arkansas since the 2014 season.

He is considered one of college baseball's top recruiters and helped assemble a recruiting class this year that was ranked the fourth-best nationally by Perfect Game USA before the major league draft. The Razorbacks had seven signees drafted. Three have signed professionally, and two more have yet to decide whether they will go to college.

"I've never really been old enough to know what I'm doing in recruiting and then stuck around to coach the guys that I've worked on," Vitello said. "I left behind a lot of work at TCU, and at Missouri there was really one group that I got to see through that I thought was really special like I think the '16 group can be at Arkansas. I'm looking forward to coaching this group that we've been working our butts off to get to campus."
 
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#22
#22
mad4vols said:
Exactly one year before Tennessee hired Tony Vitello.


Vitello 'happy' as a Hog

View attachment 540979



July 2016

Arkansas assistant baseball coach Tony Vitello interviewed for the head coaching job at his alma mater Missouri.

He was never offered the job, he said Friday.

Vitello said he interviewed for the position last month at a hotel in Kansas City, Mo. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported he was one of the favorites for the job before Missouri hired former Southeast Missouri State coach Steve Bieser on Thursday.

"Once I walked out of that [meeting], I knew I wasn't a viable candidate," Vitello said. "I'd love to look like the most loyal Razorback of all-time and I say I turned them down, but I was never offered the job ... and at no point was I ever all-in on saying yes if it was offered."

The Post-Dispatch reported Vitello had the backing of several influential alumni at Missouri, including major league All-Stars Max Scherzer and Ian Kinsler. Vitello, a St. Louis native, played three seasons at Missouri and was an assistant coach with the Tigers in 2003-2010.

Vitello indicated he didn't seek the position. He said he has aspirations to be a head coach one day but isn't in a hurry.

"I've never been very active, never pumped out my resume," Vitello said. "If somebody comes to me with something I can't refuse, then I'd have to say yes. Until then, I'm focused on what I'm doing. I'm pretty damn happy at Arkansas. I know I get paid to say that, but it's different than the other two places I've worked at."

Vitello, 36, coached three seasons at TCU, helping assemble a team that has made the past three College World Series. He has coached at Arkansas since the 2014 season.

He is considered one of college baseball's top recruiters and helped assemble a recruiting class this year that was ranked the fourth-best nationally by Perfect Game USA before the major league draft. The Razorbacks had seven signees drafted. Three have signed professionally, and two more have yet to decide whether they will go to college.

"I've never really been old enough to know what I'm doing in recruiting and then stuck around to coach the guys that I've worked on," Vitello said. "I left behind a lot of work at TCU, and at Missouri there was really one group that I got to see through that I thought was really special like I think the '16 group can be at Arkansas. I'm looking forward to coaching this group that we've been working our butts off to get to campus."
Click to expand...

If he had taken that job. Kirby would have been a Tiger. He was already headed to Missouri until they fired the last staff and the new staff did not want Kirby. He went to a camp there which was required by PBR to go to the Future's Game and hit 3 HRs right handed and 2 left handed out of 7 pitches. He thew 7 pitches, all 7 for strikes, and got out all 4 guys he faced in the camp. But still no one talked to him. After the camp, the VA came to us as we were leaving and said off the sheet he was given, you need to work on your control with your pitching. Need to get in the weight room and get stronger in your hitting.
I was headed to the car but I couldn't help myself. After that, we weren't going there no matter what so why not burn the house down. I looked at that VA and said, as nice as I could, you have no clue and neither does whoever handed you that paper. I told him what Kirby had done and he turned red as could be. He said please stay right here. The HC wants to talk to you. I said nope, we are out of here. The RC called on the way home and said we messed up. I told him you messed up when you didn't interact with the best player at your camp. No other player hit a HR that day and you didn't talk to the one who hit 5 because all of ya'll were standing huddled up talking about something rather than watching him hit. Then he throws what would amounted to 1.1 perfect innings and you didn't notice because you were not even on the field. And your VA's and GA's were not smart enough to come get when while either were happening. If you can't get that stuff right, why would I trust my kid with you. So I hope we beat them by 50 every time we play them. They have made him fire his entire staff twice but kept him because they don't want to or can't pay his buyout.
 
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#23
#23
preacherman20 said:
If he had taken that job. Kirby would have been a Tiger. He was already headed to Missouri until they fired the last staff and the new staff did not want Kirby. He went to a camp there which was required by PBR to go to the Future's Game and hit 3 HRs right handed and 2 left handed out of 7 pitches. He thew 7 pitches, all 7 for strikes, and got out all 4 guys he faced in the camp. But still no one talked to him. After the camp, the VA came to us as we were leaving and said off the sheet he was given, you need to work on your control with your pitching. Need to get in the weight room and get stronger in your hitting.
I was headed to the car but I couldn't help myself. After that, we weren't going there no matter what so why not burn the house down. I looked at that VA and said, as nice as I could, you have no clue and neither does whoever handed you that paper. I told him what Kirby had done and he turned red as could be. He said please stay right here. The HC wants to talk to you. I said nope, we are out of here. The RC called on the way home and said we messed up. I told him you messed up when you didn't interact with the best player at your camp. No other player hit a HR that day and you didn't talk to the one who hit 5 because all of ya'll were standing huddled up talking about something rather than watching him hit. Then he throws what would amounted to 1.1 perfect innings and you didn't notice because you were not even on the field. And your VA's and GA's were not smart enough to come get when while either were happening. If you can't get that stuff right, why would I trust my kid with you. So I hope we beat them by 50 every time we play them. They have made him fire his entire staff twice but kept him because they don't want to or can't pay his buyout.
Click to expand...

Dang, you just gave the whole board a reason to put Mizzou on the hate list.
 
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