OMAHA, Neb. – Tony Vitello emptied his hand.
Tennessee’s baseball coach threw a handful of dirt into the third base dugout at Charles Schwab Field. His father, Greg, walked up the steps through the abandoned land and filled his waiting arms.
Vitello held him tightly, cradling him in the most precious seconds of his finest night in the profession he had learned by observing his father.
On a warm summer night, the Vols were perched on a peak that seemed unattainable seven years ago, inevitable two years ago and completely unsurpassed on Monday. They are the national champions, the final team to make the College World Series for the first time in program history and the culmination of a fast-track under the tutelage of Tony Vitello.
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“It’s a great day to be here,” said Vols superstar Christian Moore, who had long since lost track of how many times he started crying.
Tennessee beat Texas A&M 6-5 in a thrilling Game 3 of the College World Series finale that seemed safe after a mid-inning thud from the Vols, but wasn’t settled until a breaking ball from Aaron Combs escaped the bat of Texas A&M’s Ted Burton. and found catcher Cal Stark’s glove.
The Vols flooded the field, driving into the outfield, throwing back the national champions’ signature dog pile.
Why do what everyone else does? The Vitello-led Vols built it their way and celebrated it their way.
Blake Burke picked off Vitello at third base. Moore joined in and the trio jumped together, two of the staples of Tennessee’s unprecedented three-year run reveling in their relentless leader.
“He has so much passion for us that it makes us want to play hard,” said pitcher Drew Beam, another Vols staple for three years. “Other teams and other fans can say whatever they want, but when a coach is willing to fight a war for you, it makes you play even harder and want it that much more.”
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Let’s take the founding moment as a definitive example. Hobbled outfielder Hunter Ensley pushed his ailing hamstring to maximum power, heading toward third base with no thought of slowing down. He watched as shortstop Dean Curley told him where to slide and reacted, contorting himself around the tag and toward home plate for the eventual game-winning run.
Moore called it a football game on a baseball field. Ensley called it necessary.
“You’d almost have to cut my leg off for me not to come here and play these last three games,” Ensley said.
That slide capped the seventh-inning sequence that most encapsulated the title victory. It started when a grounder leapt over Burke and was aimed at right field. But Burke didn’t hear any cheers suggesting the ball had reached the outfield. Moore saved the day, rushing behind Burke and lifting the Vols with a commanding 4-3 takedown.
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Dylan Dreiling, as he has done throughout the College World Series, let his bat do the talking. He hit a two-run homer in the seventh for the third time in the final.
Ensley slipped into Vols history two batters later, tossing his helmet with pleasure, and Peyton Manning had tears in his eyes that lingered hours later on the field. He was Tennessee royalty, alongside Rick Barnes and Josh Heupel. Moore rushed through the crowd shouting, “Where’s Morgan Wallen?”
Moore had another question.
How many days ago did he shout into the Tennessee dugout to inspire a ninth-inning rally against Florida State in the CWS opener?
It was 10 days ago when he shouted, “Let’s fight!” »
It was two days ago that Beam had resumed his leadership role. He wrote a four-word message to his teammates in a GroupMe called “Do It Loose” after the Vols lost Game 1 of the CWS Finals.
“Just one more day,” Beam wrote before everyone fell asleep.
A few teammates playfully told him to shut up. But no one questioned the meaning. The Vols didn’t lose again, playing one more day, then another day as pitcher Zander Sechrist cemented his legacy in what he called the greatest game in Tennessee history.
Sechrist and Kirby Connell – the team’s darling duo – doused Vitello with a Gatorade bath. Curley put his arm around his mother at the edge of the infield and looked at the scoreboard.
Meghan Anderson, a support worker for the baseball program, stood on the infield in the middle of it all. She is originally from Omaha, and her late mother, Marcia, sent Vitello a wooden baseball sign with the number of miles between Knoxville and Omaha painted on it. It is still in Vitello’s office.
It will likely soon be joined by another Omaha souvenir.
Vitello walked to the dirt behind home plate, bent down and picked up another handful from among the confetti. He lost track of the grass he had saved from a state championship in high school.
He didn’t let the dirt fall.
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 give you access to all of it.
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