OMAHA, Neb. — Tony Vitiello emptied his hand.
A Tennessee baseball coach threw a handful of dirt into the third base dugout at Charles Schwab Field. His father, Greg, climbed the steps through the neglected dirt and filled his waiting arms.
He grabbed Vitello tightly and hugged him in the most precious seconds of his best night in the profession he learned from watching his father.
On a steamy summer night, the Vols climbed to a peak that seemed unattainable seven years ago, unavoidable two years ago, and absolutely unparalleled on Monday. They are the national champions, the last team standing in the College World Series for the first time in program history and the culmination of a quick recovery under the tutelage of Tony Vitiello.
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“It’s a beautiful day to be here,” said Vols star Christian Moore, who has long lost count of the number of times he has started crying.
Tennessee beat Texas A&M 6-5 in a thrilling Game 3 of the College World Series Final that appeared safe after a mid-inning hit by Foles, but wasn’t settled until Aaron Combs’ breaking ball evaded the bat of Texas A&M’s Ted Burton. And I found catcher Cal Stark’s glove.
The Vols flooded the field, rolling down the field, ignoring the elite group of national champions.
Why do what everyone does? Vitello’s Vols built it their own way and celebrated it their own way.
Blake Burke picked off Vitiello at third base. Moore joined and the trio navigated together, two of the staples of Tennessee’s unparalleled three-year run with their relentless leader.
“He has a lot of passion for us that makes us want to play hard,” said pitcher Drew Beam, another three-year Vols starter. “Other teams and other fans can say what they want, but when a coach is willing to go to war for you, it makes you play harder and you want it that much more.”
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Take the defining moment as a prime example. Struggling outfielder Hunter Ensley pushed his aching hamstring to the limit, heading to third base without a thought of slowing down. He looked at shortstop Dean Curley as he pointed where to slide in and reacted, twisting his body around the marker and into the plate for the final win.
Moore described it as a football game on a baseball diamond. Inslee called it essential.
“You’d almost have to cut my leg off so I wouldn’t get out here and play these last three games,” Inslee said.
This slide culminated in a seventh-inning stretch that summed up the title win. It started when a batter was staring over Burke and was heading to right field. But Burke did not hear the cheers indicating his arrival on the field. Moore saved the day, rushing in behind Burke and putting the Vols up with a 4-3 shutout.
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Dylan Dreiling, as he has done in every College World Series, let his bat do the talking. He belted a two-run homer in the seventh for his third time in the Finals.
Ensley slid into Vols history two snaps later, cocking his helmet in delight, and Peyton Manning felt tears in his eyes that continued for hours afterward on the field. He was among the Tennessee Royals, along with Rick Barnes and Josh Heupel. Moore raced through the crowd shouting, “Where’s Morgan Wallen?”
Moore had another question.
How many days ago did he scream in 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 before Pym assumed his leadership role again. He wrote a four-word message to his teammates in a GroupMe called “Do It Loose” after the Vols lost Game 1 in the CWS final.
“Just one day,” Pym wrote before everyone went to sleep.
Two of his colleagues playfully asked him to shut up. But no one questioned the meaning. The Vols didn’t lose again, playing another day, and then another day again as pitcher Zander Sechrist cemented his legacy in what he called the biggest game in Tennessee history.
Seacrest and Kirby Connell – the team’s beloved duo – doused Vitello in a Gatorade bath. Curley put his arm around his mother at the edge of the court and stared at the scoreboard.
Megan Anderson, a support staffer with the baseball program, stood on the grass in the middle of it all. An Omaha native, her late mother, Marcia, sent Vitello a wooden baseball sign with the mileage between Knoxville and Omaha. It still stands in Vitiello’s office.
And another souvenir from Omaha will likely soon join it.
Vitello walked to the dirt behind the home plate, bent down and picked up another handful from among the scraps. He lost the turf track he held from his high school state championship.
He wouldn’t let the dirt go.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @By Mike Wilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, Consider a digital subscription It will allow you to access all of it
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