Tennessee coach flips out after losing home run due to bat sticker issue
Tennessee coach Tony Vitello flipped out after his Volunteers lost a home run on Friday against Vanderbilt due to a rule that rendered one of his players’ bats illegal.
Vitello had his George Brett moment during the first inning of Tennessee’s big weekend series against the Commodores. Jordan Beck was batting with two outs in the top of the first and connected for an opposite field home run off Vandy starter Chris McElvain.
JORDAN BECK HOME RUN JUST GOT CALLED BACK TO NO STICKER ON THE BAT. OMG pic.twitter.com/dcmoz5NmNr
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) April 1, 2022
The home run was waved off though after it was discovered that Beck did not have an updated sticker on his bat. Vitello came out of the dugout fuming until realizing the issue with the sticker.
Tennessee just got called for using an “illegal bat” and Tony Vitello is fuming pic.twitter.com/qYbXT2DV9W
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) April 1, 2022
Beck’s sticker was from a midweek game and not for the Vanderbilt series, which is why the home run was taken off the board and Beck was called out.
Vandy’s catcher picked up the bat after the home run and apparently noticed the sticker issue, which led the umpires to take a look.
During an in-game interview later in the contest, Vitello said the sticker must have come off during batting practice.
The NCAA implemented bat testing rules for the 2020 season. Bats are tested “before a team’s first game of a series, single games, the first game of a doubleheader and before the first game of a series where multiple games are played between several teams.”
Bats are tested to ensure they meet NCAA requirements. Bats that are approved are given stickers. Beck was using a bat with an old sticker, which is why he was penalized.
