KNOXVILLE, Tenn — Tennessee baseball center fielder Drew Gilbert and pitching coach Frank Anderson were ejected from Friday’s NCAA Tournament Super Regional game against Notre Dame.
They were both tossed after arguing a strike call in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Gilbert said something to the umpire, which resulted in his immediate ejection. Anderson was soon ejected after coming to Gilbert’s defense.
Both will have to miss the second game of the Super Regional as a result of their ejections. Umpire crew chief Billy Van Raaphorst gave an explanation on why Gilbert was ejected after the game.
“Tennessee #1 Drew Gilbert argued several pitches during the top of the second inning, steaming in from centerfield. To begin the next inning I talked to the player between innings, warning him to direct his comments only to his team, not our crew or the other team. He said O.K. and that he just gets excited. During the fifth inning following strike one, Tennessee batter Gilbert yelled an expletive, followed by another expletive as he walked out of the box and was subsequently ejected.”
Anderson was ejected earlier this season in a game against Alabama, in which head coach Tony Vitello was also ejected and eventually suspended after bumping into an umpire. Anderson could miss the next three games as a result, since this is his second suspension of the season.
