Tennessee baseball has been the No. 1 team in the nation for some time now.
The Vols swept their regional opponents and will face Notre Dame for a chance at a second straight College World Series berth this weekend in the Super Regional stage.
There’s a lot of pressure attached to that reality. The Vols lead the way in just about every major statistical category you can imagine: home runs, ERA, hits – you name it. A word that best describes Tennessee is somewhere around the realm of ‘unstoppable.’
Postseason baseball only intensifies the pressure of continuing their ‘unstoppable’ description. Sixth-year senior Luc Lipcius assures the Vols are ready to continue their hot streak all the way to the top, getting into the groove of what it takes to play in high-stress situations just a few weeks ago amidst their SEC Championship run.
“Both Mississippi State and Hoover prepared us for a playoff type of feel,” Lipcius said. “A lot of people in the stands, a lot of emotion. I think we handled it really well as a team. Some of the younger guys got their first feel of what it’s going to be like during the playoffs.”
The freshman trio of Jared Dickey, Christian Moore and Blake Burke are walking examples of Lipcius’ claim. The three all played major roles in leading Tennessee past the regional round and into another Super Regional appearance.
Dickey and Moore did their work on Sunday against Georgia Tech. Dickey lined a leadoff single into center field to represent the tying run. Moore smacked an RBI single to left to score two more Vols and add some much needed insurance.
Burke also provided some insurance this past weekend. The power-hitting freshman sent a towering home run over the left center wall to put Tennessee up two runs on the upset-minded Fighting Camels.
Out are the Fighting Camels and in are the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame brings with it an elite pitching staff. It’s ace, John Michael Bertrand, is coming off a hot streak and will likely be the Saturday starter for the Fighting Irish. They’re a really good team in the middle of a hot streak, but still one Tennessee and all its repertoire should be able to take care of.
Look at that, there’s those high expectations again.
“It’s whatever you think it is,” Lipcius said of the expectations. “You can feel the pressure of being this really successful team and let it crumble you or you can say ‘hey we’ve come this far with what we’ve been doing’ and let it propel you and the confidence you have with all that success.”
Head coach Tony Vitello would agree. The now fifth-year ball coach at Tennessee has his expectations for his team too. Vitello is focused on controlling what he can control – namely blocking out the noise entirely.
“You can only exert your focus and energy into so many things, so choose wisely.” Vitello said. “If you listen to all the good things people want to say about us or the bad things or the magnitude of the game or what we’re ranked, you’re not really going to be focused on the next task, and I think that’s what our guys have done well.”
“…They sincerely are focused on what’s in front of them.”
