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Tennessee

Tony Vitello reveals thoughts on Drew Gilbert passion, validity of ejection

Alex Weberby: Alex Weber06/11/22Alexhweber
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Photo by Bryan Lynn/Getty Images

Things fell apart for no. 1 overall seed Tennessee in Friday’s opening game of the super-regional. Unseeded Notre Dame arrived to Knoxville and knocked Tennessee’s teeth in during game one. The Fighting Irish came away with the 8-6 victory while the Vols came home in a 1-0 hole and without one of their star players and one of their coaches. Not a good day for Tony Vitello’s crew.

Tennessee center fielder Drew Gilbert earned an ejection in the fifth inning. At his third at bat of the day, the plate umpire called a strike one which Gilbert disagreed with. He admonished the ump, sharing some expletives to express his anger at the call. The plate official had enough of Gilbert’s tantrum and threw him out of the game for good, which also means Gilbert misses all of the next game too — Saturday’s game two of the super-region vs. Notre Dame.

Reporters asked Vols coach Tony Vitello after the game about Gilbert’s outburst and ejection. As to whether the call to eject Gilbert was correct or not, Vitello explained that a call of that nature is up to “their discretion,” meaning it’s all in the eye of the beholder. But the coach noted that Gilbert had said something to the refs and that’s why he was kicked out.

Vitello added that you “can’t take it back” after making a bad decision like arguing with the ref. Gilbert knows he messed up and now he’ll have to pay by missing a game and a half, and perhaps the end of his team’s season.

The coach also said that Gilbert has a sort of fiery personality and even joked that he once told an umpire he couldn’t control his star slugger because of it. But at the end of the day, Vitello says he’d “kill to play with that kid.” However, that fire Gilbert plays with can also lead to things like blowing up at a ref. “He let it spill over,” his coach said of Gilbert not keeping his composure.

Gilbert, a valuable two-way member of the Volunteers lineup, will miss Saturday’s game two between Tennessee and Notre Dame. That game gets started at 2 p.m. on ESPN.