Vitello’s Vols bring 'Gorilla' tactics back to Baum Walker in Super Regional clash

Phase one of the 2025 Arkansas Razorback baseball mission for Skipper Dave Van Horn’s plucky crew is accomplished.

With three more legs to go, it’s worth remembering that some  in Razorback Nation — and across the country — were wringing their hands going into the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament. So let's take this moment to brace for the second leg of the ongoing mission with the eyes of the college baseball world turning back to Baum Walker Stadium where once more the drama is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Saturday.

That's when what many are beginning to recognize as college baseball's most capable squad — your Arkansas Razorbacks — will likely face their real trial by fire against former Van Horn assistant Tony Vitello, his reigning national champion Tennessee Volunteers and their all too familiar guerrilla tactics.

Arkansas baseball and Tennessee: Super Regional Rematch

Regional Round Carnage

After the carnage in last weekend’s regional round, Arkansas — thanks to stellar pitching by aces like Zach Root, Gage Wood, Gabe Gaeckle and long-range artillery shelling from heavy hitters like SEC Player of the Year Wehiva Aloy, Ryder Helfrick and Cam Kozeal — emerged from the fray as the highest remaining seed in the tournament. Meanwhile, other SEC favorites like Vanderbilt, Texas, Ole Miss and Georgia were not so lucky and went down on their home fields like Arkansas had the past couple of years. 

Out of 13 SEC programs in this year's tournament field, only four survied the first round. But that’s baseball for you. You take your swings. Sometimes you hit. Sometimes you miss out. 

It’s all about timing, tactics and skill; but, whose time is it? 

 Vitello and Tennessee’s time came last year to cast a dreadful sherbert-orange shadow across these lands all the way from Old Rocky Top. But in 2025, the tide has finally turned cardinal red and Dave Van Horn's overdue ship may have finally come in.

Only the Auburn Tigers did like Van Horn’s Razorbacks and flexed their SEC muscles in defending their home stadium by going unbeaten in the regional round. Meanwhile Vitello’s Volunteers and the Bayou Bengals of LSU survived more serious challenges from the Demon Deacons of Wake Forrest and a valiant effort by our own Trojans of Arkansas-Little Rock. That leaves Tennessee standing between the wild-eyed, ravenous bands Razorback Nation and their food.

Who’s Your Daddy?

For the temperamental dark lord Vitello — the self-described "punk" who hates to lose and never minds bending baseball’s rules of engagement — coming back to Baum Walker always seems to stir up memories. He apprenticed under the stoic Van Horn before casting out on his own to conquer Old Rocky Top. There — make no mistake about it — he has established his own empire among the Great Smokey Mountains of East Tennessee with the mantra: If you're not bending the rules, you're not trying.

But each time he crosses the Mighty Mississippi and journeys back through the Ozark foothills of Northwest Arkansas and enters the friendly confines of Baum Walker Stadium, the winds whisper.  “Who is your daddy?”

When asked about this weekend’s match up, Vitello said to the assembled reporters. “When you’re in the backyard — at least in the neighborhood I grew up in, it was kind of everybody meets out on the street and you play a bunch of games. Whenever I lost, maybe my dad did it to me. I was kind of a little punk, but I always wanted to run it back. I wanted to redo it…This team has been confident going on the road but at the very least they get a chance to redo the thing.”

Redoing the Thing

For those familiar with the history between Van Horn and Vitello and watched the press conference, a notable gulp escaped Vitello's throat when was asked about coming back to face his teacher. He feigned as if he wasn’t aware of Arkansas finishing off Big East Champion Creighton the day before to advance to the Super Regional. He even seemed to break out in a cold sweat.

That’s probably because despite his winning ways (so far) and making it to the College World Series three out of the last four years — and winning one before his teacher — Vitello is 2-10 in head-to-head match ups against his father-figure since Vitello left Arkansas in 2018.

Just three weeks ago, Vitello and company jumped out on Root and threatened to end Arkansas’ stellar regular season with a conference series loss, but  Arkansas’ heavy hitters eventually out dueled Tennessee’s own in a classic series of "gorilla" warfare.

That set the stage for Razorback senior pitcher Will McEntire. Irritated by stalling tactics Vitello picked up elsewhere in his coaching sojourn, the veteran reliever came out of the bullpen in the final  innings and emphatically slammed the door on any thoughts of a Volunteer victory. In the process, he ushered the Volunteers out of Baum Walker with a few choice words. 

That series win secured Arkansas a second-place finish in the SEC regular season, but more importantly home field advantage leading up to the 2025 College World Series.

Van Horn and Vitello have exchanged a few choice words themselves over the years, but results have always been the same. The two coaches always make up once the competitive fires cool over a post game glass of wine but en vino veritas. Here we go again.

Return to the CWS

The Volunteers went on from this year’s regular season-finale to what may prove to be another meaningless run to the SEC tournament championship game against Vanderbilt. Meanwhile Arkansas’ usually dependable defensive systems let Zoot down in a one-and-done showing in Hoover, Alabama against LSU.

This time however, the rematch between the venerable Van Horn and his former padawan is for keeps. The outcome could shape the landscape of the SEC and all of college baseball for the foreseeable future.

Enquiring minds want to know. Can Arkansas — which has been the more consistent team this season with deeper reserves — resist any janky  mind tricks from Vitello and company? And will Root and the pitching corps live up to their first-team All-SEC status and get the support they need (on defense or at the plate) to out wing  Tennessee’s Liam Doyle and company?

Can pre-season SEC pitcher of the year Gabe Gaeckle and equally talented Arkansas-native Gage Wood hold up against the Gorilla Ball tactics Vitello learned under Van Horn?  Or will we find out once and for all, who are the O.G's of Gorilla Ball by taking the other team's pitching staff to the woodshed in the clutch?

We will see in this weekend’s Episode II of the 2025 Clone War between Arkansas and Tennessee. The stakes have never been higher when the two programs patterned after each other meet with history in the making. But for all of Vitello's impetuous success, the master just may remind him. "Much you still have to learn."