Tony Vitello breaks down two costly plays for Tennessee vs. LSU

Tennessee suffered a 5-0 loss to LSU on Tuesday as its season came to a disappointing end. If a few plays would have gone a little differently that night, perhaps the Vols would still be playing at the College World Series.

Tennessee coach Tony Vitello spoke about a couple of plays in particular that were costly following the loss to the Tigers. First, Vitello was asked about a play that occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning with LSU leading 1-0. Vols leadoff hitter Maui Ahuna hit a double to left-center with Cal Stark on first. Stark was running on contact with two outs but was held up at third.

Vitello reflected on that decision by third base coach Josh Elander after the game. Vitello said that there were some tough decisions that were costly earlier in the CWS, which could have led to Elander being cautious in this particular situation.

“And then you get another difficult decision [in the fifth]. And normally with two outs and a double, you’ve gotta [send him],” Vitello said. “But it wasn’t there. And if you look up at the jumbotron, to double check, it just wasn’t there. And we’ve got a really good hitter coming up next that had a heck of a night the first time we played these guys and just a little bit of difficulty tonight.”

Up next was Hunter Ensley, who was 0-for-3 on Tuesday against LSU, including the fly out in the fifth to end the inning with two runners in scoring position.

The other play Vitello was asked about occurred the following half inning as LSU extended its lead to 2-0.

After a leadoff double, Gavin Dugas laid down a bunt for the the Tigers. It looked as if the ball might roll foul down the third base line, but Tennessee third baseman Zane Denton tried to pick it up and get an out at first.

Instead, Denton threw the ball away, allowing another run to score as LSU took a 2-0 lead.

“It looked like it was going foul, but I’m also standing in the dugout spitting seeds into the ground, you know. He’s out there playing in front of 25,000 [people] or whatever we’ve got in there,” Vitello said. “And he’s trying to make a play. And who knows, it may not have rolled foul. But then again, to try and make a play… Put it in your back pocket is easy to say if you’re watching from home. But these kids are running around out there pouring their hearts onto the field. That’s why it’s been so damn entertaining so far.”