Vanderbilt HC Tim Corbin gets real about rivalry with Tennessee after Commodores' win against the Vols

The Tennessee Vols dropped their first game of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, falling 13-4 to the Vanderbilt Commodores in Hoover.

After the game, which was just Vanderbilt's second win against the Vols since 2021, Commodores head coach Tim Corbin was asked about the rivalry with Tennessee and if it's tough to "manage the temperature" of the team due to the spiciness of the rivalry.

Corbin suggested that he doesn't view the rivalry that way

“I don’t feel that way, I don’t think the kids feel that way,” said Corbin. “It’s like when you play Tennessee or Florida, it’s just exciting baseball. You know you got to play well. I know our kids respect Tennessee and their program. There’s no doubt about that. We talk about that. But what you can’t do is start admiring people you play. We got a good program, too. A real good program. We’ve been consistent. So it’s just about just trying to play your best baseball and trying to play better baseball than the opponent.”

Vanderbilt infielder Jonathan Vastine admitted after the game that it's always "big" to beat Tennessee, but he stopped short of suggesting that there's any added motivation for the Commodores when they play the Vols.

"It's always big to beat those guys across the street," said Vastine. "You know, there's a lot of history behind it, but we treat every game the same. We're just trying to stay together as a team. This is a big tournament and we're going to take it one game at a time. So we don't need any extra motivation because we create it ourselves just because we want to win as a team."

"Playing them is fun, but we're going to keep every game the same no matter who we're playing," added Vanderbilt LHP Miller Green.

One of the most memorable moments in the rivalry between Vanderbilt and Tennessee came in 2022 when Vols outfielder Jordan Beck had a home run wiped off the board due to what was deemed an illegal bat.

That moment led to perhaps the most memorable in-game interview with a head coach in the history of college baseball.

Vols head coach Tony Vitello told the ESPN announcers that Beck forged his transcripts and was actually a 35-year old man named "Mike Honcho".

Tennessee will play Texas A&M on Thursday afternoon in Hoover. If the Vols win and if Vanderbilt loses to Mississippi State, then Tennessee and Vandy would play again on Friday in a loser-goes-home matchup.

Related: Former Vols QB Josh Dobbs receives big compliment from 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan