The University of Tennessee baseball team is trying to build a new tradition under first-year coach Todd Raleigh, but it is also relying on an old formula – utilizing players from Chattanooga.
Helping the Volunteers this year are relief pitchers and Baylor School graduates Zane Stone and Ryne Simpson, and infielder and McCallie School graduate Tanner Moore.
Stone, a senior, had pitched 17 innings going into this weekend’s home series against Vanderbilt with a 5.82 earned run average, while the junior Simpson had pitched 7.1 innings and had a 4.91 ERA.
The sophomore Moore, meanwhile, has enjoyed 51 at-bats as a top reserve for a .216 batting average and six RBIs.
The three have also contributed with their positive attitude and character.
“Zane does so much for the community,” said Raleigh. “He is just a tremendous kid. He is a little short on athletic ability, but he makes up for it in heart.
“And Tanner, he comes every day and gives what he has,” he continued. “He is certainly not short in work ethic.”
Simpson, Raleigh said, is also a good youngster and student and has improved after struggling with his control on his pitches earlier in the season.
“Ryne still has a chance to help us this year, and we are excited about that,” Raleigh said.
The three have also been impressed with the enthusiasm of Raleigh, who has guided Tennessee to a 25-21 record so far after coming from Western Carolina to replace 18-year coach Rod Delmonico.
“He has been the toughest coach I ever played for, but he brings out the best in everybody,” said Moore, who began his college career at East Tennessee State University. “He expects the most out of you every single day. His hunger and competitive attitude has reflected on this team this year.”
Added Stone, “He makes you work hard and pushes you to limits you do not think you can reach. He expects a lot out of you.”
Stone is in his second year at Tennessee after two years at Walters State Community College. At Baylor, he was a standout under longtime coach Gene Etter, whom Stone also admires.
“Coach Etter had an amazing way of making things fun,” said the son of Danny and Sheila Stone. “You wanted to play so hard for him because you did not want to let him down.”
Receiving a scholarship to play at Tennessee has been a dream come true, he said.
“It has been awesome,” he said. “You grow up thinking about playing here.”
Other than while he is on the mound, Stone has also elevated himself for his award-winning community service work, which had its fruition in part after his mother was diagnosed with leukemia several years ago.
Stone has done much work volunteering at a cancer research center, work he calls very fulfilling.
“Afterward you say it was a lot of fun and that I enjoyed doing that,” he said.
He has also found his senior season rewarding, saying the team has battled through injuries and the tough SEC schedule, in which the Vols still have a chance to finish in second place in the SEC East behind Georgia.
“I think we are on the right track,” said the sports management major, who is looking at getting into real estate after graduating this fall.
Simpson, meanwhile, has made smaller the real estate his teammates have had to cover in recent outings.
“It has been going really good as of late,” he said Thursday. “It started off shaky, but I had a couple of pretty good outings the last couple of times out there.”
Simpson’s father Rick, who was a multi-sport athlete at Baylor before graduating in 1981, played baseball at Florida and later Central Florida, while his grandfather also played for the Gators.
However, his mother, Tammye, is a Tennessee alumna. “I have made her proud,” Simpson said with a smile.
Like Stone, he has also found getting to play for Tennessee and seeing hundreds of cheering fans at every SEC home and away series a thrill.
“You have to be 100 percent ready to go,” he said. “You want to try to make everybody proud.”
Simpson also credits Coach Etter for his development, saying he provided him with the information he needed but did not try to mold him.
For Moore, being the lone McCallie teammate of two Baylor graduates has not been difficult.
“It has been fine,” said the son of former standout McCallie pitcher Mike Moore and Linda Pascal and the younger brother of former McCallie quarterback and baseball standout Ryan Moore. “I grew up being friends with Ryne and Zane in high school. There is no bad blood with us. I never thought of Baylor and McCallie as a hate rivalry anyway. It is more of a competitive environment.”
Moore is used to playing for an intense coach after having played baseball at McCallie for Chris Richardson and football for Ralph Potter.
“Coach Potter was definitely tough to play for,” he said. “Some of his practices you didn’t look forward to. But Coach Potter and Coach Richardson in baseball helped shape me into the person I am today – someone who is tough mentally.”
He also considers getting to play for Tennessee an awesome experience, adding that he was a Tennessee fan growing up.
“I am having the time of my life playing college baseball,” he said. “It is just a blessing to have an opportunity.”
Jcshearer2@comcast.net