What happened between Tennessee baseball and Vanderbilt with fifth-inning warnings

NASHVILLE − Christian Moore flew out to shallow left field quietly enough Sunday.

Vanderbilt pitcher JD Thompson walked off the mound quietly but loudly. Thompson rubbed on his forearm while staring at the Tennessee dugout then rubbed the fingers on his left hand together in the air. Vols coach Tony Vitello ran out of the dugout to speak to the umpire crew, which congregated at the mound. The crew opted to issue warnings to both teams after Thompson's gesture.

The Commodores (34-18, 12-15 SEC) won the finale 3-0 against No. 1 Tennessee (42-10, 19-8) thanks to Thompson's work at Hawkins Field. The Vols won the opener 8-4 on Friday and took the series with a 7-6 win Saturday.

Why did Tennessee baseball, Vanderbilt get warnings?

Thompson celebrated escaping a fifth-inning jam after putting two on with no outs. He got two strikeouts before Moore flew out to end the inning.

Thompson, who puzzled the Vols through six-plus scoreless innings, made motions that appeared to be a reference to "sticky stuff" or the use of a foreign substance. It is unclear if Tennessee made any indication that Thompson was using a foreign substance again. The sophomore was ejected on April 20 against Florida after umpires examined the ball, glove and forearm. Thompson served a four-game suspension as a result of his ejection.

Commodores coach Tim Corbin said after Thompson's ejection that he did not know what substance Thompson was caught with, The Tennessean reported.

Thompson struck out nine Vols on Sunday and allowed two hits and three walks as UT was shut out for the first time this season.

“Good spin on the breaking ball," Vitello said of Thompson. "Kind of started with good fastball command more than anything and then that led to guys chasing some off-speed. He got into a rhythm there in the third and fourth and then he was landing off-speed pitches to compliment it. It made it a good overall package."

Tennessee had won nine straight games against the Commodores before Sunday's loss, a stretch that included sweeps in 2022 and 2023.

"A lot of frustration over the past few years with them guys," Thompson said. "They’re a mouthy group, I mean, they’re a good group of guys that know how to play some ball. But I mean, just the rivalry aspect of it, we needed this. We really did.”

Tennessee baseball, Vanderbilt have had tensions bubble over before

Sunday wasn't the first time Tennessee and Vanderbilt have had tensions rise although they didn't reach a high level.

Moore was ejected and suspended in the second game of UT's sweep against Vanderbilt last season at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. Moore ran from second base to defend pitcher Chase Dollander, who was covering first base for a potential double play when Vanderbilt's Troy LaNeve ran into Dollander. Moore got into LaNeve's face before the umpires got Moore away from the play and Vols director of baseball operations Chad Zurcher walked with Moore toward the dugout.

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Jordan Beck of Tennessee was called out for using an alleged illegal bat in the opener of the series in Nashville in 2022. He homered then was called out by the umpires for hitting with a bat without the required sticker indicating it was tested and approved for use in Tennessee’s series against Vanderbilt. Beck and Vitello explained the sticker came off during batting practice at Hawkins Field before Tennessee’s 6-2 win. Luc Lipcius homered an inning later and pretended to inspect the bat after crossing home plate.

Vitello was ejected in the opener of the 2021 series. Vitello was frustrated by a Vanderbilt baserunner fielding a foul ball before it went by third base.

The Tennessean's Aria Gerson contributed to this story.

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.