Tony Vitello chased a phrase to describe Hunter Ensley.

The Tennessee baseball coach couldn't quite nail it. He didn’t need to. His own words were better than a catchphrase anyway.

“He is in the lineup because he fights,” Vitello said.

Indeed, Ensley does. He has put it on full display for the past month. He made it known again Friday to lead Tennessee within a game of a third College World Series berth since he arrived at UT in 2021.

Ensley went 3-for-4 with a homer, a double and four RBIs in his latest massive hitting performance for No. 1 Tennessee (54-11) in its 11-6 win against Evansville (38-25) in the opener of the Knoxville Super Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Why Tony Vitello knew that Hunter Ensley would hit

For whatever reason, Ensley had a slow start to his fourth season at UT.

Vitello doesn’t know why and he doesn’t care — nor did he care in the midst of it. He expected the redshirt junior outfielder to show who he is and always has been.

“When you get enough sample size, you will see what a guy is,” Vitello said. "I think the numbers are fine. They have been climbing.”

In other words, Vitello believed that was Ensley has done since May 4 was inevitable because it’s true to the fighter he is at the plate.

Ensley was hitting .238 then heading into UT’s series finale at Florida. He is hitting .295 entering Saturday (11 a.m. ET, ESPN2) against the Purple Aces.

Ensley is hitting .410 with a .518 on-base percentage in his past 18 games. He has four homers, eight doubles, 22 RBIs, 19 runs and 15 walks in that stretch. He has been even better in the past five games, hitting .600 since Tennessee’s SEC Tournament title win against LSU to leave any sluggish start in the wake of a terrific tear.

He is right where Vitello anticipated he’d be and at a great time for the Vols.

“Everybody knows he has got the ability to hit,” Vitello said. “The results will come and go but the more often and the higher percentage of the time you compete your butt off, you just kind of shift the percentages in your favor a little bit. I think that is what he does.”

How Hunter Ensley’s torrid month has changed Tennessee

Ensley grounded out to second in his first at-bat at Florida on May 4. He has been ruining pitches since. He slugged a two-run double in his next chance. He hit another two-run double and a three-run homer in a sixth-inning barrage.

Twelve days later, Vitello shuffled the middle third of the lineup as UT started a series against South Carolina. He moved Dylan Dreiling to the cleanup spot from the five-hole and Ensley from the six-spot to the five-hole. He put Tavares Tears in the six-spot.

Tennessee has lost once since.

“It is the most dangerous lineup I have seen in my 16 years as a head coach,” Evansville coach Wes Carroll said Friday.

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In this iteration, it is little wonder why Carroll felt such a sentiment. Tennessee’s top three — Christian Moore, Blake Burke and Billy Amick — all homered against the Purple Aces.

Ensley had the fourth homer and did damage throughout the win.

He twice fell behind 1-2 on Friday. He ended the at-bats with an RBI single and the three-run homer to back up Vitello’s assertion that Ensley fights — and that is why he was, is and always will be in the lineup.

“As good as our lineup is 1-9, we can get you with anybody and at anytime,” Ensley said.

Ensley is a resounding reason why that's the case and why the Vols are a win away from Omaha again.

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: Hunter Ensley keeps hitting Tennessee baseball toward CWS vs Evansville