Former Tennessee Vols baseball star Drew Gilbert went viral for the most painful reason

Former Tennessee Vols baseball outfielder Drew Gilbert went viral on Wednesday for one of the most painful reasons.

Gilbert, who is currently playing for the Syracuse Mets (the New York Mets' Triple-A team), was hit below the belt with a pitch in his first at bat against the Rochester Red Wings.

The former Vol remained down on the ground for several minutes before he was removed from the game.

It will come as no surprise to Tennessee fans that Gilbert lobbied to stay in the game.

Gilbert just recently returned to action for Syracuse. He missed most of the first half of the season while dealing with a hamstring injury.

The former Tennessee standout was expected to be a potential late-season call-up for the Mets, but that's now unlikely due to the missed time earlier in the year.

As for Wednesday's incident, it looks like Gilbert is going to be ok according to Syracuse bench coach JP Arencibia's Instagram story.

Related: Former Vols OC Alex Golesh gets candid about taking over a tough situation at Tennessee in 2021