Tony Vitello discusses returning to Arkansas for Fayetteville Super Regional
Tony Vitello discusses returning to Arkansas for Fayetteville Super Regional
No. 14 national seed Tennessee (46-17) advanced to a super regional after winning the Knoxville Regional. The Vols will face No. 3 national seed Arkansas (46-13), Saturday-Monday, in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional.
The Fayetteville Super Regional will mark the Vols' second series at Arkansas in 2025.
Arkansas won a regular-season series finale against Tennessee, 2-1, May 15-17, at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Since playing at Arkansas to conclude regular-season play, the Vols have compiled a 5-2 record in the SEC Tournament and Knoxville Regional. Tennessee defeated Alabama and Texas, while losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament.
More: How to watch NCAA Tournament baseball super regionals: Times, TV channels
Ahead of the Game 1 between the Vols and Razorbacks, eighth-year head coach Tony Vitello discussed Tennessee returning to Arkansas for a second time this season.
'I think every game we've played since we've been there has been basically cut-throat,' Vitello said. 'I know it's double elimination format once you get to the regional. Different type of format going to Hoover this year, and we've had some good appearances or runs in Hoover, but we've also had a couple times, whether it went good or bad, the first day wasn't great. Our guys were tremendous against Alabama right out of the chute, and then the Texas game. I haven't rewatched it, but I'm going to wait and we'll rewatch the whole regular broadcast, not just our scouting report one, because it was an ESPN classic. I don't see how that one didn't help both teams in some way, shape or form, or at least I can say that it helped ours. Didn't go the way we wanted in game three, and then, you know, we go to the regional, but all those scenarios, whether they were positive or negative on the scoreboard, were great for our team.
'So, little more experience, little more maturity, and then I think as the years gone on, blame the coaches or me for taking too long, but I think it's been a year where you're kind of sorting out what do you want the lineup to be, where you want certain pitchers to go, and I think we have a better understanding of that now than maybe we did back then, or definitely prior to that.'
More: Tennessee baseball versus Arkansas 2025 Fayetteville Super Regional game times, TV
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