Vols get unlikely victory
KNOXVILLE — Tennessee squeaked out a 5-3 series-clinching baseball victory over Kentucky on Sunday without its head coach or pitching coach and with a starting pitcher who had a 102-degree fever Saturday night.
It was against that unusual backdrop to a key Southeastern Conference contest that 5-foot-8 Tennessee third baseman Brandon Chinea — a .144 hitter this season — slugged the first home run of his collegiate career.
The sophomore’s two-run blast over the left field wall broke
a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning, and former starting pitcher Garrett Stallings induced two double plays during a five-out save in his first relief outing of the year to secure a win crucial for the Volunteers’ hopes of making the SEC tournament under firstyear coach Tony Vitello.
Suspended for Sunday’s game and for this Friday’s series-opening contest against Vanderbilt because of a prolonged argument of a balk call Saturday, Vitello was forced to watch Sunday’s game at what he said was an “undisclosed location” he described as an Italian mafia shelter “with a rather large TV.”
“Of course, I feel guilty,” Vitello said. “Of course, I’d like to be there for my guys. But I told them, man, this time of year the players decide. The coaches are kind of overrated. You do some things here and there.
Our guys did that. But gosh dang. They pulled through like no other.”
Vols starter Will Neely pitched five innings, allowing one run the day after he had to be driven home from the stadium because of illness.
“Another page in the book of who Will Neely is,” Vitello said. “I hate picking out a favorite. But that guy is an absolute warrior. Adversity doesn’t know what it is getting itself into when it goes up against Will Neely.”
Freshman lefthander Garrett Crochet (5-5) was the winning pitcher after bridging the 2 1/3-inning gap between Neely and Stallings, who became the latest Vol to find success out of the bullpen after losing a spot in the weekend starting rotation.
Former starter Zach Linginfelter pitched 5 2/3 innings out of the bullpen to earn the win Friday night, when the Vols began the series with a 6-2 win. Crochet, also a former weekend starter, earned the save.
Kentucky (30-17, 11-13) piled on runs against the bullpen for a 10-3 win Saturday, when Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson were ejected in the sixth inning for protesting a balk called against freshman righthander Sean Hunley. By rule, Anderson’s ejection earned him a suspension for Sunday’s game, while Vitello’s prolonged argument after his own ejection landed him a two-game suspension.
That left 27-yearold assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Josh Elander to call the shots for Tennessee during the series finale. He was aided by volunteer assistant Ross Kivett and student assistant J.P. Arencibia, a former major league catcher.
The result was a win that improved Tennessee’s record in home SEC games this year to 8-4, guaranteeing the Vols (27-23, 10-14) will finish the year above .500 in that regard for the first time since 2005. Tennessee went to the College World Series that year but has not appeared in an NCAA regional since.
Tennessee hosts Vanderbilt before closing the regular season at Missouri in what is shaping up to be a crucial series for both teams as they claw for one of the final spots in the 12-team SEC tournament. The Vols started the weekend a game behind Missouri in the standings but jumped a game ahead with Sunday’s win and Georgia’s series sweep of the Tigers.
No head coach and no pitching coach proved no problem for the Vols, who received standout performances from an ill pitcher and an undersized hitter.
“Going all the way back to the beginning of the year, I didn’t know who they were, then I kind of liked them, then I had a crush on them,” Vitello said. “Then I hated them. Then I was disgruntled and frustrated and loved them and hated them. Love them, hate them, love them, hate them.
“At the the end of the day, it’s going to be a hell of a story looking back on this team.”
Sunday’s game might have been the most unlikely chapter yet.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@ timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.