Hunter Ensley played all of his greatest hits on Friday night, the ones that bring Tennessee baseball fans out of their seats to roar their appreciation.
At the plate, the Vols center fielder mustered a single and a double against Vanderbilt. On the bases, he executed a daring slide into home, getting his hand on the plate an eye blink before the tag. The highlight of highlights, though, took place in the field, specifically a leaping catch at the center-field fence that might have brought back a home run or at least prevented an extra-base hit.
“He’s made a ton of great plays,” UT pitcher Liam Doyle said, “so you always have some confidence that he’s going to catch it.”
The operative word of Doyle’s observation was “confidence.” Ensley’s talent has enabled him to accrue what Vols coach Tony Vitello described as “great performance stuff.” Ensley makes plays that influence games and hopefully, in turn, inspire some self-assurance in his teammates.
That’s the Vols hope anyway.
After Ensley’s heroics and a series-opening victory, Tennessee dropped the final two games against the Commodores. In Saturday’s loss, the game turned on a messy sixth inning in which four pitchers, three hits and two errors led to four runs by Vanderbilt. In the series finale, the Commodores hit three two-out, two-strike home runs while the Vols stranded 12 baserunners, including three in the bottom of the ninth.
The Vols, who lost four home games total last season, now have lost four consecutive home series. They’re tied for fifth place in the SEC standings and are ranked 17th in DI Baseball’s Top 25 weekly poll.
After Sunday’s 7-5 loss, Vitello didn’t question his players’ talent or competitiveness. But about their confidence . . .
“I think right now where I’m at is I’m responsible for guys playing and feeling confident. So, one of the reasons we either make some changes or stress out a little bit about guys’ performances is not necessarily what they’re capable of or if they made a huge mistake – I mean, they’re gonna make mistakes – it’s playing with confidence. That ultimately is a choice and you got some guys whose wheels have been spinning, either on occasion or as we stand here right now.
“So, whatever we can do to try and help them. Trust me, everybody’s trying about everything you can think of.”
Everybody including Ensley, who had two more hits on Sunday. He concluded his day by barking at the celebrating Commodores, contributing to a brief on-field stir following the game. What Ensley says to his teammates will be more relevant to the Vols’ plight and Vitello noted that the redshirt senior has started “to direct traffic a little bit more this time of year, which is needed.”
The coach followed up with an important reminder.
“And then it takes two to tango. I think our guys, because there have been some ups and downs in the year, need to realize this is a pretty good resource right here. Not just to look to, but to listen too.”
----
Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, U.S Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.