He Tennessee Volunteers entered the 2024 College World Series as the No. 1 overall seed. The Vols racked up 55 wins this year, the most in the country. But they found themselves in a pretty deep hole in the middle of their Game 1 matchup against Florida State on Friday night. They were trailing 9-4 in the top of the fifth inning, when Tony Vitello was interviewed by ESPN’s Kris Budden.
“We played well. Probably some frustration if you’re watching from home or cheering from the stands because we seem to handle the circumstances better. I’m not talking about complaining about playing Omaha or anything like that. This is a pretty mature group. I think some of the plays we’ve had opportunities to make. Obviously, we have to throw strikes and just do a better job catching,” Vitello explained.
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How do you think your team fared against Florida State pitcher Jamie Arnold? “I think with what he has and who he is, I think we’ve done an excellent job. We’re obviously looking for an extra punch to break through. If you look at the scoreboard, we’ve made a couple of twos, but we haven’t had that big inning. And to counteract his damn touchdown that we gave up on, we’re probably going to have to make a big tackle at some point in this game,” Vitello said.
In a way, it was almost like I was gazing into the crystal ball. Shortly after his interview, Vols slugger Kavares Tears hit a two-run homer to cut Florida State’s lead to 9-6 in the bottom of the fifth. Then, slugger Christian Moore hit a solo shot to cut FSU’s lead to 9-7 in the bottom of the sixth. With the home run, Moore hit for the cycle, just the second in College World Series history and the first since 1956 (Jerry Kindall). It was Moore’s 33rd home run of the 2024 season.
