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Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley’s status updated ahead of next game in Omaha

On3 imageby:Eric Cain•06/18/24•

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Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley. Credit: UT Athletics
Tennessee outfielder Hunter Ensley. Credit: UT Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. – Tennessee skipper Tony Vitello gave an injury update on outfielder Hunter Ensley ahead of Wednesday’s College World Series contest.

The No. 1 overall seeded Volunteers lock up a College World Series Finals spot with a win on Wednesday at approximately 3 o’clock eastern time. With a loss, Tennessee takes part in a win-or-go-home game on Thursday. The Vols will play the winner of Tuesday’s North Carolina – Florida State game.

“A little bit of an easy answer being day-to-day. Definitely better today than he was on Monday. It was good for the guys to earn a day of rest or kind of our recovery days, what it’s been ever since Hoover on Mondays and then back to work today,” the coach said. “And he was involved in everything, but you know, I don’t know if he could have gone full speed, but he was cautioned to not go full speed through everything. So, he did everything that our guys did. Just not as much as, you know, he might normally do.”

Ensley was removed from Sunday’s 6-1 win over North Carolina in favor of Colby Backus to begin the fifth inning. The junior made hard contact with the centerfield wall after making a web gem of a catch on the run on a drive off the bat of Anthony Donofrio to begin the second inning.

“He crashed into the wall, and I think hip — I just kept relying on [Jeff] Woody and Doc [Chris] Klenk (physician) in our dugout,” Vitello said after the game. “But you could see he wasn’t moving around his best. In the back of my mind, I thought, as soon as we got a lead we can’t afford with the way Drew [Beam] was throwing the ball to not get to a fly ball, which ironically is what got us into that spot.”

The outfielder got up in a hurry showing plenty of emotion after making the highlight reel catch. He remained in the game in the second inning, though he could be seen grabbing his hamstring throughout the rest of the frame while standing in the outfield.

The veteran lined out in the following half inning at the plate and returned to play the field the next two frames. After striking out in the bottom of the fourth on a lengthy at-bat, Ensley could be seen limping back to the dugout.

Ensley has been fantastic for the Vols the last two months of the season. He singled against Florida State on Friday and combined for five hits over the first two super reginal games against Evansville last weekend. He tallied four hits in the Southeastern Conference Tournament title game against LSU and logged three-straight multi-hit days in the Knoxville Regional.   

On the season, the centerfielder is hitting .286 on the season with 11 home runs and 45 runs driven in. With an OFF day on Tuesday, it should prove Ensley with some time to rest.

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