How loss to Tennessee Tech turned Tennessee baseball’s season

called it, Eberhardt was not a player favorite.

The ride home from Fayetteville was quiet. Tennessee had just gotten swept by Arkansas to start the season 5-10 in SEC play.

To make matters worse, the Vols got routed on their home field against Tennessee Tech. With the postseason – and even a trip to the SEC Tournament – in question, it was time for Tennessee to “become a team.”

Part of that process included a get-together between the players, spending time getting to know each other. With all of the newcomers and unfamiliar faces, it has taken longer than expected for head coach Tony Vitello’s squad to gel.

“We had a little team meeting,” Christian Moore said. “Not like a team meeting, but we had a lot of guys at someone’s house. We just sat there and just talked, chopped it up. Guys, just doing what we do. That was definitely huge for us and everything kind of switched.”

Tennessee strength and conditioning coach Quentin Eberhardt, or Vitello’s “executioner,” also played a role in Tennessee turning it around. That included some team punishment.

Eberhardt rejoined the team in the offseason after a short stint with the Cubs. The coach has been a favorite among players. During a “tough two days,” as Griffin Merritt

“He’s as big into team chemistry and personal growth as he is muscle growth, which is really rare for that position,” Vitello said. “He took it upon himself to put in a little extra work with those guys and also just kind of talk about how they need to approach things and I’ll be dang, every team I’ve been a part of, if they’re going to be good they gotta find their best combination of being really relaxed and loose.”

Whether it was the team hanging out, or Eberhardt’s team punishment, it worked.

Since that loss to Tennessee Tech, the Vols have gone on a seven-game win streak which featured sweeps over No. 5 Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. They scored 83 runs over those seven games.

“We started to become a team, I think that’s what we were missing in the beginning of the season,” Moore said. “Now, we don’t have to worry about getting a hit here because maybe the guy next to us might not. Now, we know my brother behind me has my back if I don’t do the job I know he will. I think coming together as a team is definitely huge for us. We spent a lot of time together.”

The two sweeps have brought Tennessee to 11-10 in SEC play. Tennessee also moved back into the rankings, currently sitting at No. 24. Despite finally reaching that mark, there is no time for celebration for Vitello.

“I think what you want to do is take a moment to recognize the SEC schedule is a grind,” Vitello said. “But sometimes when you get pushed up to the Thursday through Saturday series it allows for a more relaxed Sunday with family, friends, girlfriends, whoever it might be. It’ll be good for our guys.”

The postseason pictures became a lot clearer for the Vols.

The magic number for teams in the past in SEC play was 14-16 to make the postseason. A couple of weeks ago, that seemed like a far reach for this Tennessee team.

Vitello has been adamant throughout the tough stretch that the best baseball was ahead for Tennessee. The best baseball has arrived at a crucial time for the Vols.

“The results will fluctuate a little bit,” Vitello said. “There’s challenges ahead of us, but I do think we have a picture of what it looks like when we show up to the park with our right approach or best attitude, where guys need to be is getting closer but not a finished product. And like I said, marching towards May, I think we got good ball ahead of us, we just need to keep playing baseball and not complicate things.”