Tennessee baseball-Notre Dame umpires explain Drew Gilbert, Frank Anderson ejections
The umpire crew for Tennessee baseball vs. Notre Dame on Friday issued a statement regarding Drew Gilbert's fifth-inning ejection.
“Tennessee #1 Drew Gilbert argued several pitches during the top of the second inning, steaming in from centerfield," umpire crew chief Billy Van Raaphorst to NCAA Baseball Knoxville Super Regional pool reporter Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel. "To begin the next inning I talked to the player between innings, warning him to direct his comments only to his team, not our crew or the other team. He said O.K. and that he just gets excited.
“During the fifth inning following strike one, Tennessee batter Gilbert yelled an expletive, followed by another expletive as he walked out of the box and was subsequently ejected.”
Gilbert and Anderson will also miss Saturday's game against the Fighting Irish due to their ejections per rule.
Gilbert was displeased with a 1-1 strike call from home-plate umpire Kellen Levy. He turned toward Levy and expressed his frustration, using choice words. Levy tossed him.
Vitello and Anderson ran out of the dugout when Gilbert was ejected. Anderson was ejected as well. It is Anderson's second ejection this season. He also was tossed against Alabama on April 16.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball ejections: Umpires explain tossing Drew Gilbert
