Tony Vitello: When Hunter Ensley hits, it's 'icing on the cake'

The Tennessee Volunteers took a series from the Florida Gators over the weekend. It was a hard-fought series, and head coach Tony Vitello knows that outfielder Hunter Ensley was a massive piece of the puzzle for the Volunteers.

Following the series, Vitello praised Ensley and shared what he loves about him. In particular, Vitello emphasized how important it is when Ensley hits well for Tennessee.

“Just the way he competes,” Tony Vitello said. “He’ll fight. Coach [Frank Anderson] said it the other day when we were talking about different guys in the lineup. Obviously, he plays a tremendous centerfield for us. He’s a really good base runner. He had a base running play at second base that was very underrated. If you were watching, he did it to a T. It was important in the situation. So, you know you going to get all those things and when he hits, it’s icing on the cake.”

In the series against Florida, Hunter Ensley exploded offensively in the series finale. That included a seven RBI performance with two doubles and a home run in the win. That was a career-high in RBIs for Ensley and was key in winning the rubber match against the Gators.

This season as a whole, Hunter Ensley is hitting .254 with seven home runs and 28 RBIs. His OBP is .336 and his slugging percentage is .492 for the season.

“He’s hit in some big, big moments – whether it be in Omaha last year, in our opening game there, or other SEC games. I mentioned the Kentucky series,” Vitello said. “He will give you that, too. Regardless, you know you’re going to bet some fight out of him. He represents the program very well and that’s what we want all of our guys to do.”

Tony Vitello not losing confidence despite bottom of the lineup struggles

In recent games, the bottom half of the Tennessee lineup has struggled. Despite that, Tony Vitello says he’s not losing confidence in them.

“I think thought process is a big thing. How much do you believe in yourself and what are you trying to accomplish when you’re up there? Those guys have been through so many battles. They’ve obviously got talent, which adds to the confidence,” Vitello said.

“To me, it’s about having self–belief – which is why you’re in the lineup. If you don’t have that self-belief, go over to the board and read your name out loud to yourself and then get in there and have some sort of approach that’s going to be beneficial to the team.”