In the crosshairs of a pitching machine filled with squishy baseballs stood Garrett Wright.
One of Tennessee baseball’s new additions stood poised for the pain of his usual training regime. To others, it would look like Wright’s best impression of Happy Gilmore. Each ball that struck Wright’s body in the batting cage helped build his approach, one that focuses mainly on getting on base.
For the man who’s been hit by 51 real baseballs over his career, the sting is plenty worth the reward.
“I just don’t move,” Wright said. “All it is, just a warrior mentality and kind of just go from there.
“If you set up the machine, it’s really not going to miss too much. So, my quad was my target of choice.
The Bowling Green transfer kept his thick skin during the Vols’ 11-2 win over Oakland, Wright’s first start in his new home. The Massillon, Ohio, native didn’t appear in the starting lineup over Tennessee’s first 12 games of the season after undergoing surgery on his hamate bone before the campaign.
“I dealt with it a little in the fall, and I kind of just pushed it off like it’s going to go away,” Wright said. “Went home for winter break, it was just a constant pain. But, I was just pushing it. One day at practice I couldn’t catch a ball and I remember talking to coach (Elander), and there were tears shed.”
Wright reached base four times, posting one of the more gritty statlines in doing so. His hard work on the receiving end of the pitching machine paid off. Grizzlies’ pitchers plunked him on a pair of occasions, and a self-induced bunt-single acted as his first hit of the year. He added a true single through the left side in his final plate appearance to make him one of three Vols with a multi-hit outing.
In his eyes, the right-handed presence’s lack of batting protection gives him an advantage.
“Because then the umpires can’t go against you, ‘Well, you tried to lean into it,’” Wright said. “Why would I lean into it if I don’t have anything on?”
On this night, Wright patrolled center field, the same position he filled as a defensive replacement in his first true appearance during Tennessee’s midweek matchup with Bellarmine on Feb. 24. The six-foot junior excels best behind the dish though, not only because of his hard-nosed attitude, but also because of his defensive skill as a backstop.
Wright earned the 2025 MAC Defensive Player of the Year honor after posting a .991 fielding percentage with the Falcons. As far as contributing his catching ability to the Vols, he’s only found himself in a squat with the familiar view of the pitching machine as his injury continues to heal.
“I think if we were in the postseason, we could really kind of talk about it,” head coach Josh Elander said. “That’s probably the last piece to get there, and we’re not there yet.
“Catching off the machine or catching Landon Mack throwing 98, a little bit different animal. We’ll keep the big picture in mind, but really cool for him today.”
