FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas ace Zach Root came flying off the mound letting f-bombs rip at Tennessee star Andrew Fischer after he grounded into a 4-6-3 sixth inning ending double play in the Razorbacks’ 4-3 super regional opening win over Tennessee Saturday evening.
Vols head coach Tony Vitello flew out of the third base dugout nearly as fast, expressing his displeasure with the umpiring crew. But meeting with the media postgame, Vitello didn’t point his anger towards the Arkansas ace.
“The guy was fired up, man,” Vitello said. “The way he threw, you could argue that he could have done a cartwheel if you wanted to and there’s nothing wrong with it. I got no beef with that. Like, those are the — (Liam) Doyle, Marcus, Root — those are the guys that you like being around. You don’t want to be around those guys that don’t want to compete.”
The eighth-year Tennessee head coach confirmed that he didn’t want the umpires to eject Root from the game. Vitello just wished he had a time machine.
“My issue was not with him, it was with maybe a little PTSD,” Vitello said. “That was not the same (as when Cannon Peebles was ejected Monday against Wake Forest). And I’m not criticizing. Well, I don’t care what it is, but I’m just saying factual. It wasn’t the same with what we just dealt with prior to, last weekend. Wasn’t the same, but it’s a different crew too, and these guys would not be in the super regional if they weren’t highly qualified at what they do. … That’s where my frustration came.”
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Tennessee starting catcher Cannon Peebles missed game one of the Fayetteville Super Regional while serving a suspension he earned by jawing with Wake Forest catcher Matt Conte in game seven of the Knoxville Regional last Monday.
Vitello called Peebles’ actions “foolish” last week, but those actions were markedly tamer than Root’s profanity-laced eruption directed towards Fischer.
Stone Lawless started in place of Peebles and went zero-for-three at the plate. Arkansas also scored a run on a wild pitch but there was blame to go around for that miscue and there’s no certainty that Peebles would have saved the run if behind the plate.
Vitello hopes that the same standard is held for the rest of the highly anticipated best of three series.
“For any initial emotion that comes out of anybody, for our game tomorrow, or any of the games that are left,” Vitello said. “If you’re one of — I think there’s still 16 teams, whatever — how many teams are left, good for you, athletes.”
Root was “the difference” in the Razorbacks’ series-opening win, allowing just one earned run and an additional unearned run on just one hit in seven innings pitched.
Tennessee baseball’s season is on the brink as they prepare for game two of the Fayetteville Super Regional on Sunday. First pitch is at 3 p.m. ET from Baum-Walker Stadium. Tom Hart, Kyle Peterson and Chris Burke are on the call for ESPN.
