OMAHA, Neb. − Outfielder Hunter Ensley remains day to day with a lower-body injury for Tennessee baseball in the College World Series, coach Tony Vitello said Tuesday.
“Definitely better today than he was on Monday,” Vitello said.
Ensley took part in all workouts Tennessee did Tuesday in preparation for facing Florida State (49-16) on Wednesday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN). The redshirt junior did not go full speed, however, after the injury he suffered making a highlight catch running into the centerfield wall at Charles Schwab Field in Tennessee’s 6-1 win against UNC on Sunday.
“I don’t know if he could have gone full speed but he was cautioned to not go full speed through everything,” Vitello said. “He did everything that our guys just not as much as he might normally do.”
The Vols advance to the best-of-three championship series with a win Wednesday.
Hunter Ensley injury update for Tennessee baseball in College World Series
Ensley was injured on a catch he made in the second inning on a deep fly ball hit by UNC’s Anthony Donofrio. He ran full speed into the wall. He remained in the game but departed after the fourth inning.
“I had a good feeling I was going into the wall,” Ensley said. “I could feel my feet on the track before I caught it so I knew it was going to be a painful catch.”
Vitello indicated Ensley was removed because Ensley could not move around at his best. Senior Colby Backus entered for Ensley in the top of the fifth inning.
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Ensley said UT training staff taped his leg prior to his fourth-inning at-bat, but the range of motion wasn’t ideal. Ensley was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. He is hitting .286 with 11 home runs and 45 RBIs.
Ensley’s catch was one of 11 consecutive outs Beam recorded to start the game.
“Drew is out here working his tail off, there is no reason for me to play it off the wall,” Ensley said. “It has to be an out right there. It was a big-time catch in the situation.”
Who could play centerfield for Tennessee baseball if Hunter Ensley is out?
The Vols could turn to Backus again in place of Ensley if he cannot play Wednesday. Vitello also mentioned sophomore Reese Chapman, redshirt sophomore Kavares Tears, and sophomore Dylan Dreiling as possibilities in centerfield.
UT typically starts Tears in right field and Dreiling in left field. A likely possibility is the Vols move Tears to centerfield and put Chapman in right field. The Vols could start Dalton Bargo at designated hitter in that scenario. Bargo was the designated hitter in UT’s first game against FSU before Chapman started at DH against UNC.
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.