Tennessee baseball loosened up and swept doubleheader, won series vs Alabama

When Tennessee baseball players arrived at the clubhouse at Lindsey Nelson Stadium early on April 24, they weren’t thinking about the upcoming grind of a doubleheader against No. 15 Alabama.

They weren’t fixated on the 12-8 loss to the Tide in the first game of the series a day earlier. They weren’t stressed about what a series loss could mean for their postseason future.

The Vols were too busy “jamming” to rapper NBA YoungBoy, according to starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns.

That loose mentality translated into a cascading offensive downpour and stringent defensive outing as Tennessee (29-15, 10-11 SEC) cruised to big wins over the Tide (29-29-16, 10-11) on both ends of the doubleheader.

Tennessee run-ruled Alabama in eight innings, 10-0, charged by another exceptional performance from Kuhns. Hours later, the Vols posted their second double-digit scoring performance with an 11-4 win.

Tennessee coach Josh Elander believes his young team is learning from facing adversity.

“We’ve been in that spot because we haven’t won on Friday night,” he said. “We need to be better on Fridays, but we’ve been in these scenarios where your back is against the wall and you’ve got to figure out what you’ve got. You can play tight and tense and try hard, or you can just cut it loose and play baseball.”

Tennessee hosts West Georgia at home on April 28 (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+) before continuing SEC play at Kentucky from May 1-3.

Here’s what we learned about Tennessee baseball after its Alabama series victory.

Offense responded to Josh Elander’s challenge

After Tennessee’s first two losses in its last series against Ole Miss, Elander challenged the team to reflect on the offensive woes. The Vols scored four runs in the first game, yet barely escaped a shutout with a single run in Game 2.

Tennessee closed the series with a 13-5 win on April 19. The success carried over into the Alabama series with a total of 29 runs. Even in Game 1, the Vols logged eight runs.

“Better swings, nothing crazy,” Elander said about what’s changed with the offense. “It’s not like we’re taking batting practice differently or doing our scouting reports differently … I think our guys, as they continue to see more SEC high level stuff, they just slow down and are able to navigate at-bats a little better or the moment a little bit better when the crowd gets going.

“I think they’re just settling in. That’s what we need down the stretch. I know we’re past the three quarter way in the year. I’ve always felt confident in this offense, I know they’re capable and they need to continue to be consistent.”

Designated hitter Trent Grindlinger certainly settled in against Alabama. The Tide had no answer for the freshman, who had a combined five hits and two home runs in the doubleheader.

Elander called Grindlinger’s performance “rare.” Outfielder Blaine Brown is getting used to it.

“Trent, he works hard,” Brown said. “Nothing he did today surprised me at all. That’s just what I know he can do.”

Brown also had a big performance with two home runs in Game 3.

“We like that Blaine,” Elander said. “We’d like to see some more of him.”

Tegan Kuhns continues to showcase MLB talent

Kuhns claimed he wasn’t upset about the eight inning run-rule cutting off his path to a full game shutout. Regardless of how he felt, Alabama hitters were definitely frustrated trying to score against the sophomore pitcher.

In eight pitched innings, he struck out nine, allowed only three hits and a walk with no earned runs.

“I was just ready to set the tone,” Kuhns said. “I feel like the guys needed it. They needed a better start out of a starter, and I just did that for them.”

Starting pitching is good, for the most part

Left-hander Evan Blanco continued to be a “pro” for the Vols in Game 3. He gave up five hits and three earned runs, but countered with a season-high nine strikeouts.

Blanco wasn’t as close to a flawless performance like Kuhns. However, he provided six solid innings and prevented Tennessee from reaching into its bullpen early.

That’s exactly what happened in Game 1. Starting right-hander Landon Mack was off his game at the beginning, and it lingered through his 2 1/3 innings pitched. After he pelted an Alabama hitter in the helmet with a fastball, Elander took him out.

“On Friday night, you need length from your starter,” Elander said on April 23. “You’ve got to be careful with the bullpen, especially with the weather that we’re looking at coming in. When he hit that guy in the head − I hope that guy’s OK − that was a clear indicator that we needed to get him out of the game.”

Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com

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