Tennessee unlocked new weapon with Chase Burns coming out of bullpen

ANDREW PETERS Sports Editor

Tony Vitello tapped Chase Burns on the shoulder in the late innings of Tennessee’s series opener against Vanderbilt Friday night.

Tennessee’s head coach had a simple question for the sophomore pitcher, who was a weekend-and-change into coming out of the bullpen rather than starting on the mound. Vitello asked him if he wanted it, and Burns told him yes.

The thing Burns wanted was a chance to put Vanderbilt away and lead the Vols to a signature win that they were desperate for. He trotted to the bullpen in the ninth inning and started to warm up.

Burns came out of the bullpen for Camden Sewell in the 10th inning, inheriting a runner on base with no outs. What followed was a pitching masterclass.

He delivered three straight strikeouts and let out an emphatic scream as he walked off the mound.

After giving up his only hit in the top of the 11th inning, Burns dealt two more strikeouts to get Tennessee out of the inning unscathed. He put Vanderbilt down in order in the top of the 12th inning, picking up a pair of strikeouts and setting Tennessee up to win the game on Griffin Merritt’s walk-off home run.

On Sunday, Vanderbilt made a late push to cut Tennessee’s lead to five, but Burns once again came in late, putting the Commodores down in order in the ninth to end the game and secure the sweep for the Vols.

Burns had a rocky start to the season. He has an 8.10 earned run average in SEC play and had gone 0-3 in his three SEC starts prior to Vanderbilt. Burns needed a fresh start.

“Me and (Vitello) had a good talk about resetting after a couple of bad starts,” Burns said after Friday’s win. “Coming out there and doing my job was the greatest thing ever tonight.”

Burns wasn’t the only one struggling while he was on the mound, however. It bled into the defense behind him. If Burns wasn’t having a good outing, it usually meant the defense was struggling in the field and vice versa.

“He needed a reset. If you look at his body of work prior to this, a lot of stuff kind of hit a downward spiral because it’s so frustrating. It kind of mirrors our team,” Vitello said. “He’s throwing the ball well, throwing the ball well, then we don’t make a play behind him, a bad break, a guy does square a ball up and then it would kind of snowball a little bit.”

The new role allows him to play more loose and relaxed so those small mistakes don’t lead to an all out collapse. That was evident on Friday as Burns came on to the mound confident and poised as he kept control of each pitch.

That isn’t to say Burns can’t still get psyched about getting on the mound. The mindset shifts as he prepares for battle.

“I think you are more relaxed because you’re in the dugout with the team,” Burns said. “And all of sudden he tells you to go down and that’s when it kind of kicks in. It is what it is. Whatever role I’m in, I’m going to go out there and do my job.”

Now Tennessee looks to attack the remainder of the season with Burns in a new role that is seemingly working out for everybody. His efforts on Friday and Sunday were a start, but the Vols are confident in Burns moving forward.

“He gave us courage, and it kind of disseminated throughout the dugout, and I think it bled onto the field,” Vitello said. “He set the tone with just the way he competed.”