Tennessee first baseman Blake Burke was ejected from the Vols’ series finale matchup against Illinois after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Burke said something to Illinois catcher Camden Janik after touching home following his fifth inning solo home run.
Illinois’ dugout quickly exploded with a pair of coaches coming out to talk to the umpire before Tennessee coach Tony Vitello also did the same thing. There was no clear ejection sign from home plate umpire Kevin Sweeney but Dalton Bargo was in at first base when Tennessee’s defensive took the field in the top of the sixth inning.
Sweeney warned both dugouts earlier in the game when Tennessee catcher Cal Stark and an Illinois batter were chirping.
“Well there had already been an unsportsmanlike conduct that was issued when both catchers were talking to each other during Janik’s at-bat,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said postgame. “Blake hit the home run and when he crossed home plate, I don’t know what he was saying but he was clearly talking to the catcher about the home run or telling him about it.
“Which he’s a smart enough guy, he could see where the ball landed. There’s no need to do that so I don’t necessarily agree with Blake’s approach or some of our other guys’ approach in certain situations and how they handled it. That was our main point in our conversation out there (in right field after the game) how to handle tension like that.”
Burke will serve a one-game suspension for Tennessee’s Tuesday night matchup against Eastern Kentucky at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
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While Vitello wasn’t happy with the way Burke reacted to the home run, he also wasn’t pleased with how the umpires handled the entire situation.
“But I also don’t agree with how we got to that whole spot. It was not necessary,” Vitello said. “We’ll come out of today being the bad guys and maybe something gets posted and you see Blake Burke got thrown out and he’s a bad guy. …I don’t think we needed to get to that point which I think is fair to say.”
Vitello continued on a long diatribe about his disdain for quick pitching and the trend in college baseball.
Burke’s home run was a big one, cutting Illinois’ lead to 3-2 in the fifth inning. The Vols took both of the first two games of the weekend series and are looking to complete the weekend sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The junior first baseman is off to a strong start to his season, entering Sunday’s game hitting .367. Burke’s home run was his sixth of the season and extended his hit streak to eight games.
Burke was in the midst of a huge weekend against the Fighting Illini, hitting five-of-nine with three doubles, two home runs six RBIs. He also reached base on balls twice.
