Tony Vitello comments on the ejections of Drew Gilbert, Frank Anderson

Tennessee dropped Game 1 of the Knoxville Super Regional to Notre Dame, officially putting them on the verge of elimination. They will attempt to win two games in a row without center fielder Drew Gilbert and pitching coach Frank Anderson, who will both face suspensions after being thrown out of the game.

Head coach Tony Vitello commented on the situation after the game, saying Tennessee knew it was going to be an emotional game. He said Anderson reacted how he did but also mentioned everyone else in the dugout having a strong reaction.

“You certainly don’t want anything to get inflamed more than it was,” Vitello said via Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel. “Though clearly that was the case. I think everyone reacted. We talked as a group when we did a meeting yesterday … It is going to be an emotional game. He reacted to the pitch and was thrown out.”

Vitello also said Anderson had a conversation with Gilbert after the game. He wanted to make sure his player knew he did not do anything wrong to elevate the situation. At the end of the day, it was just a coach looking out for his player.

“We had about a sincere reaction as possible back in the locker room,” Vitello said. “Frank wanted to make sure Drew didn’t do anything to worsen the situation.”

Frank Anderson suspended, will miss three Tennessee games

Since it’s Anderson’s second ejection of the season, that’s where the three-game suspension comes into play, per NCAA rules. Anderson will not be available for the next three games of the NCAA Tournament for the Volunteers, including the full weekend and possibly one game of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Check out the explanation below regarding the rules of ejections, which are governed by the NCAA.

“Penalties related to ejections are governed by the NCAA. By procedure, umpires file a postgame report to the NCAA and the NCAA then provides a report (generally the following morning) to the conference office to confirm any related penalties associated with the ejection, at which time any penalties are communicated to the school.”