"I went to one game in the middle of nowhere, and he didn't say hi to me": Tennessee's Tony Vitello recalls the first time he saw Christian Moore
Tony Vitelo's Tennessee Volunteers have hurled past their first test in the College World Series as they defeated the seminoles-football" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Florida State Seminoles 12-11 in their Friday night clash at Omaha, Nebraska. Christian Moore was the hero of the day for Tennessee with five hits, an RBI and a run in six times at bat. He also hit a historic cycle. He had a batting average of .385 and an on-base percentage of .460 during the game.
Speaking about him in the post-game press conference, head coach Tony Vitello recalled how he met the star second baseman. He told the assembled press:
"I went to one game in the middle of nowhere, in Georgia, and he didn't say hi to me. I don't if he knew it was me or not... He was pitching in that game. He was a pitcher, athletic kid, infielder that we recruited."
He also shared with everyone at the press conference, that Christian Moore had turned down good contract offers from MLB teams to join the program. Further, Vitello pointed out that Moore and other players at Tennessee were battling old stereotypes surrounding baseball that star prospects like them wouldn't want to turn down professional contracts to play college baseball.
Tennessee's Tony Vitello commends Cannon Peebles for his performance against Seminoles
During the press conference, the head coach of the Volunteers also took some time to praise Cannon Peebles for his pinch-hitting performance during the ninth inning. Peebles earned a walk and would be the one run brought in by Dylan Dreiling‘s walk-off single. Tony Vitello said of Peebles:
“We’ve got an opportunity to put you in the game, but hold on, we want to put you in the game when the fire’s burning hot, that can be really frustrating for a young guy, even more frustrating for a guy that kind of envisions a Pete Rose/George Brett style of attacking the game, which he truly does.
"But for this team in particular, it’s what his role is and what it needs to be. There’s a good chance he’ll catch before our time is done here. There’s a great chance he has to be patient for the next situation.”
Last offseason, Peebles transferred from NC State, another school participating in this year's College World Series. He was the Wolfpack's star batter last year with a .352 batting average, a .697 slugging percentage and a .456 on-base percentage.