Bat feeling light for laid-back Chris Fritts

Any pressure that Chris Fritts might have felt on his shoulders in the past appears to have been lifted.

As comfortable as the Tennessee outfielder has made himself at the plate, there might be a risk that the weight in his hands might simply fall away as well.

In search of a different approach and maybe a new atmosphere after a difficult campaign a year ago, Fritts seemed to have found a few things that worked as the Vols opened the season with a three-game sweep of Northern Illinois over the weekend. And heading into a home date today with Western Kentucky at 3 p.m., his laid-back style certainly seems to be making the bat feel a bit lighter.

"When I'm in my stance, honestly I feel like the bat can just fall out of my hands because I'm so relaxed," Fritts said. "From there, I can just trust my eyes and go."

The outfielder has already seen plenty to like offensively at this early stage of the season, and there was nothing wrong with his grip as the Vols (3-0) breezed through a series with the Huskies to start the Dave Serrano Era with the program.

Along with the debut for Serrano, the weekend also provided the first test of the offseason adjustments for Fritts. And after driving in six Vols with a three-run home run and a bases-clearing double to spark one win and bringing in one more to complete the sweep during a doubleheader Saturday, there was little doubt that the memory of a trying sophomore season wasn't on his mind anymore.

"I just think I had a rough year and that's the way the game goes sometimes," Fritts said. "But I feel like this summer I did grow up a lot — and I got in touch with the approach I needed to have, my niche as a hitter and the things I need to be thinking that works for me.

"You kind of have to figure yourself out along with the game at the same time. It's kind of funny and it's kind of cliché, but you have to grow up."

That obviously takes time and experience, but Fritts and his teammates might also be benefitting from a new vibe under a different coaching staff.

The Vols have typically avoided making any direct comparisons between the old way of doing things and how Serrano and his assistants operate, and Fritts didn't go into much detail about a season when he hit .227 with 14 RBI. And while there is only a small sample to analyze from the weekend, accounting for half of the runs he did all of last year in one afternoon is hard to interpret as anything but positive.

"I think our coaching staff when they work with the hitters, it's really relaxed," Fritts said. "You know, they're not trying to be too hands-on with us and they understand that everybody is their own style of hitter. But they keep us thinking the right things.

"There's just such an optimism, like, 'Forget it, you have a bad at-bat, flush it, go play defense and worry about the next one.' Knowing that, you're just so much more relaxed and you play your game. You're confident, you get in the box and you just go."

And since he's yet to actually drop the bat from being too comfortable, everything else is working out just fine for Fritts.

Austin Ward covers Tennessee football. Follow him at http://twitter.com/Vols_Beat and http://blogs.knoxnews.com/ward.