Tony Vitello, Luc Lipcius discuss extending Tennessee's season for Drew Gilbert's return
Tennessee is not going home yet and has a chance to advance to the College World Series with a win Sunday. In the crucial Game 3 vs. Notre Dame, the Vols will also get Drew Gilbert back into the lineup.
During Friday’s loss to the Irish, Gilbert was ejected for arguing balls and strikes. Due to NCAA rules, he was suspended for Saturday’s Game 2.
Now, Tennessee will get Gilbert back with the season once again on the line. After Saturday’s win, head coach Tony Vitello was asked what it means to be able to extend the season for Gilbert.
Though he appreciated the question, Vitello was at a loss for words to explain the feeling:
“I’m just being honest, I can’t put that into words,” said Vitello. “You can come up with something if you want, but I can’t.”
Luc Lipcius – who homered twice in a big 5th inning for the Vols – was also asked about Gilbert’s return. Lipcius admitted the team just wanted to play with him at least one more time and predicted it would be a “berserk” atmosphere on Sunday:
“We just wanted to see him play again,” said Lipcius, “And I think he’s gonna come out with a lot of energy. I think the crowd is going to go absolutely berserk when he gets that first AB.”
Sunday’s decisive Game 3 is set for a first-pitch time of 1 pm ET. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Tony Vitello was asked about making sure last night wasn’t Drew Gilbert’s last game at Tennessee. His response shows the genuine love he has for his team. #Vols pic.twitter.com/yryQSDIPZY
— Reece Van Haaften (@Reece_VH) June 11, 2022
“We just wanted to see him play again… The crowd is going to go absolutely berserk when he gets that first AB.”
Luc Lipcius (@LLipcius) explained how important Drew Gilbert (@gillygoobear) is to the #Vols. pic.twitter.com/XcBNa8UtqZ
— Reece Van Haaften (@Reece_VH) June 11, 2022
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Tennessee online sports betting officially launched on November 1, 2020, and many of the largest sportsbooks are live and operating in the volunteer state. Tennessee is only one of a handful of SEC football states with legalized sports betting.
Did Gilbert issue any sort of statement about the incident? Any sort of apology or admitting he was wrong?
He shouldn’t you should be allowed to curse at refs due to their extreme ineptitude across all sports
No.
Disagree. I’d be disappointed in any coach or player on the team I root for behaving that arrogantly. Not a good look on the team, sport or conference. UT has been showing signs of this kind of attitude all year, and it makes it only that much easier to root against them.
Really? You’re right I guess… I mean who’s ever heard of a ball player getting tossed for arguing calls or coaches being ran for the same thing?
Give me a break Nancy
What happened? You mean the Vols lost and the refs/umpires were at fault? NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
i doubt there was any and nor should you expect one….and i get it. whether by design or not by vitello, this team plays its best ball a little reckless, unapologetic and without any class. if he has them apologize for it, they may lose their edge. i’m sure vitello has them believing its a ‘world verse us’ mentality right now.
now, the vol fan base who continue to think they’re getting the short-end on calls, decisions, etc. and there’s nothing wrong with how the team is representing themselves, the univ, etc….they’re the ones who either threw tr@sh on the field on fri night…or would have also partaken, had they been there.
the vols are a great team and vitello has them playing with a lot of moxy, but there’s a reason other fanbases can’t get behind what’s going on in knoxville.
First paragraph, decent points made. Last two, totally disagree. Just stop with the other fanbases stuff. This holier than thou junk is rich coming from other SEC fans.
Tennessee is the best team in the country. I actually enjoy watching them play. I don’t care for the nonsense, but they’re very good ball players. FYI—a person doesn’t have to be holier than thou to be decent. Every fan base has their share of bad ones. No one need defend them.
No, no they are not.
Pigs! Suck it
And then it was over. Gilbert goes Ofer.
Yep. Lot of hate coming our way soon. Still was a good ride. Congrats to the domers.
Great ride. It’s just how it goes with baseball.
Thanks LSU. Football will be here before you know it.
Vols lose