Tennessee, Mississippi State baseball explain heated 5th-inning spat in SEC tournament game

HOOVER, Ala. — Tony Vitello was already boiling when he reached the mound Friday to take Drew Beam out of the game.

The Tennessee baseball coach believed the Vols already should have been out of the fifth inning, but weren't due to unfriendly umpiring. Then the Vols coach said he heard Mississippi State players yelling his name and tensions bubbled over between the Vols and Bulldogs.

"I’m not used to a bunch of guys hollering out my name and not reacting," Vitello said. "Maybe I brought it on myself, but I didn’t say anything to anybody. I’m just not used to that. If our players are yelling out Dave to the (Arkansas) coach Van Horn, in any form or fashion, we’ve got a problem. That’s just me.

"Maybe I bring it on myself, so I reacted and they reacted."

Players and coaches from Tennessee and Mississippi State spilled on to the field briefly in the fifth inning of Tennessee's 6-5 win at the Hoover Met on Friday in their SEC tournament elimination game. No one was ejected and tensions did not flare up again.

Vitello credited umpires with diffusing tensions well and said the SEC asked for no handshakes following the game.

What happened between Tennessee baseball and Mississippi State?

Tensions started with displeasure toward the umpires, according to Vitello. The Vols were upset with home-plate umpire Clint Fagan, who had called a ball on a potential third strike against MSU outfielder Bryce Chance that would have ended the inning. That followed catcher Cal Stark dropping a foul tip that would have been a strikeout as well.

"From my vantage point, which was my vantage point, we thought we were out of the inning a couple times," Vitello said after UT's 6-5 win. "I haven’t seen the video where you actually have a better perspective, but from our dugout, we thought we were out of the inning a couple times."

Mississippi State joined in on voicing its displeasure with the umpiring during the ensuing at-bat when third base umpire Kevin Sweeney said MSU shortstop David Mershon went around on a check-swing attempt. However, Mershon worked a walk to score the Bulldogs' first run and bring Connor Hujsak to the plate.

Tensions increased further after Hujsak tied the game 3-3 with a two-run single. Vitello went to remove Beam, which is when matters heated up. Hujsak appeared to chirp at the pitcher's mound where Beam and Vitello stood. Vitello responded and first-base umpire Derek Mollica yelled at the Mississippi State dugout to stop the verbal lobs.

After the game, Vitello said he was upset by MSU players shouting his name directly.

Mississippi State hitting coach, Christian Moore were upset during exchange

After Vitello started jawing at the Bulldogs' dugout, MSU hitting coach Jake Gautreau burst toward the first-base line. He had to be restrained by Bulldogs pitcher Stone Simmons and the umpires. Tennessee players Cal Stark and Christian Moore got involved in exchanging words. Moore had to be led back to the field by his teammates and the umpires after taking off his hat while moving toward the MSU dugout.

"Just talking back and forth and probably got out of control," MSU coach Chris Lemonis said. "I was actually underneath. I came out late. I didn't even see the initial stuff happening."

Players on both teams remained largely in or around their respective dugouts amid the disturbance.

After the brief conflict, Vitello said Mississippi State outfielder Dakota Jordan was joking with the UT dugout before hitting a two-run single.

"All the players that were involved in the game were all cordial — kind of how it’s been in the conference," Vitello said. "These guys have a ton of respect for one another."

Tennessee advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals with the win. A rematch with No. 8 seed Vanderbilt awaits Saturday (approximately 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Clarion Ledger reporter Stefan Krajisnik contributed to this report

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, Mississippi State get heated in SEC baseball tournament