Tennessee baseball got back in the win column Tuesday night, defeating Austin Peay 13-4 in a drama-free midweek matchup. The Vols scored seven runs in the third inning to break the game open and didn’t look in the win.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander discussed his decision to no longer coach third base, the need to be better in close games and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.
More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Bounces Back With Midweek Win Against Austin Peay
On what went into his decision to stop coaching third base and move to Tennessee’s dugout
“I knew that was going to be the first one. Had a lot of conversations after the weekend. It was a tough one, right? And we just said, you know, ‘hey, how can we communicate a little bit better as a staff.’ And I’ve always wanted to keep everything this year as similar as it was, just with the uniqueness of the change with (Tony Vitello), for the players between the lines and how it ran.
“But I just thought at this point, (pitching coach Josh Reynolds) and I are playing the game of, ‘hey, if this, then that,’ and then I’m trying to communicate from the third-base box. So even just little things, like tonight, I got to sit down with Sawyer Deering after the inning, instead of running out to third base. Allows me to have a little bit more one-on-one time with those guys. But a lot of it was even the hitters for Chuck (Jeroloman) and I to be right there with the guys as they’re going up to the box. I love coaching third, but I think at this point for the team, it was the move and for our staff to be able to communicate on a higher level throughout the game.”
On why Tennessee Director of Program Development Craig Bell will be the third-base coach moving forward
“Well, Craig’s done it in a national championship game. Has done it a long time over at Florida, had a ton of success doing it. I remember being real young in this league and watching him do it. He can do this at the high level. So we always talk about in this building, if you say you’re going to do something, you need to do it. So I told the team yesterday after we sat down as a staff and met throughout the course of late Sunday night. We were talking into Monday and when Craig was a little under the weather, it was like, ‘Hey, (Ross Kivett), by the way, you’re going over there today.’ So he did a good job. I’m glad he got hit by a ball, too. Hopefully it’ll slow him down a little bit. But yeah, that was where the thought process came from.”
On if he feels the biggest benefit to him being in the dugout is to be able to communicate with the pitching staff
“I just think in general, even like Reese (Chapman), we were able to talk through his approach and stuff, right? And then also, too, just being able to have a conversation or talk to the hitters. I just learned as a player, I never understood when the third-base coach would bark at guys from the box the whole time. That’s never been my style. So I think it just allows everything holistically to communicate better. Pitching, offense, Chuck and I to talk through some offensive options, or Reyn is right there. And honestly, it’s as the course of the inning plays out, too. Because sometimes say, if we score two, let’s do this. If we score three or one, (let’s do this). So again, just allows us to communicate a little better.”
On how Tennessee catcher Stone Lawless is progressing since he was hit in the face by a pitch at Vanderbilt on Sunday
“He looks better. The update there from Woody (trainer Jeff Wood) and our training staff is he has a facial fracture and a fracture in his nose. He’s in great hands with our people here. Dr. (Chris) Klenck has done an amazing job with him, but he’s a huge part of our team, and will continue to be. Now he’s got to get some of that swelling down in his eye before we figure out what the next steps are. But you know, he was here today, he was here yesterday as well. So sending good vibes to him. We all said a prayer for him over the deal. That was a very, very scary deal, but love that kid, and he’s going to bring a lot of value between now and when he’s back out on the field for us again.”
On if Tennessee has to wait on the swelling to go down to determine what Lawless’ timeline to return will be
“Yeah, that’s the latest. We gotta wait on that swelling (to go down).”
On how Tennessee will balance the catching duties while Stone Lawless is out
“I think G-Wright. That was one of the things that we wanted to get the box checked. I mean, we’ve gone — I don’t want to say slow with that, but smart I think just with the hamate bone as he’s gone about it. We don’t want him to take one in the spot and all of a sudden he can’t swing the bat for us, and he can really play centerfield, too. So there’ll be some combination of him and Levi (Clark) on the weekends. I think Trent (Grindlinger) continues to get better and better and as he’s swinging the bat, I think it’ll open some things up with Stone out of the lineup.
“But, you know, Levi having done it and then Garrett (Wright) now being back (and being a) little bit older, we’ll kind of mix and match based on, ‘Hey, what does that mean with Jay (Abernathy) in center, or Garrett?’ And we’ll look through those things this week once we dive into LSU a little more.”
On if catching decision will be more about who they trust most behind the plate or how it fits with the rest of the lineup
“Well, I think the uniqueness of like, the trust factors. Again, I’ve been in the trenches with those guys. That’s a group that I work with on a day-to-day basis, so I trust all of them to do it. I think it’s even as just having a conversation with some of the pitchers. ‘Hey what is your preference here? Or whatever it may be, and then ultimately, we have to make the decision.’ But they’re all capable of doing it at a high level defensively, and they know that in the standard. And we talk about that in recruiting all the time, and we always talk about just catching, keep it in front, control the running game, and everything (else) is a bonus. And with those guys, whether it be Trent or Levi or Garrett, they’re capable of swinging the bat too.”
On what Evan Hankins status is, where he was before the weekend
“He was just continuing to get better. He’s another guy we’re waiting, I know he’s going to meet with some doctors, and it was just a tough deal, kind of a weird spot on the turf down there. And, again, still waiting to get all the information there as it plays out a little bit. But there’s a pretty good chance he’s going to miss some time as well with that knee.”
On how Ariel Antigua’s shoulder is feeling, if he’s available
“You ask him, he’s always available, right? So I pulled him aside over at Vanderbilt, and there’s some spots where, again, I’m sure people are saying, ‘Hey, why is Ariel not going in there as good as he is defensively,’ but I just told him, like, we have to keep the big picture in mind and I know we’re in the middle of SEC, but when it was starting to affect his ability to make the routine play, that’s when we had to hit pause a little bit. So he’s been under eval with Woody and our staff as well. I don’t see it being any kind of long term deal, but just, he is always running hard, diving for balls and whatnot. So hopefully we get it back out there soon.”
On his comfort level with Garrett Wright both catching and hitting leadoff
“Yeah, I think it’s funny you mentioned the lead off. Garrett was honest with me, after going down to Georgia that he was a little uncomfortable with that. And then my challenge for him was, like, it’s only one time. It’s the first AB of the game, and the rest of time it could be [anywhere]. We’re trying to get you up there as much as you can. I think it was, I don’t know whether his other school is out, or conversations. It was, ‘hey, to lead off the game. We’re ready to rock and roll.’ So just talk about some different approach stuff. I think he thought maybe he had to kind of change his persona, or drive up the pitch count. We want our guys, regardless of where they hit the lineup, as much as we’ve moved it around, to be who they are. To put them in a position to have success. So I think that conversation there really helped him. And he’s gonna be just fine behind the dish too.”
On how comfortable Wright was hitting leadoff against Austin Peay
“I think it was great. Again, gets out of the gate, hits a double down the line to start the game. He can really throw, I think people really, I mean, he can really, really throw from behind the dish. Ca shut down the running game. And again, I just thought it was crisp. Not a lot of drops, or a guy like being in between and trying to catch a bunch of different pitchers and a bunch of different looks tonight. But he’ll do a good job back there. I got a ton of confidence in him.”
On what most pleased him from the performance
“I think just a response from the weekend, right? I mean, that was a tough one. And talk about being a gut punch or whatnot, but that’s what our guys know, you sign up for. There’s going to be those throughout the year, but I think if you look at it holistically at the game, a double-double is something we love. So double digit runs, double digit hits, just getting out of the gates. But then also two, (Ross) Kiv(ett) has done a great job with those guys on defense to have clean game, no errors. As much as we’re asking those guys to move from second to third to short, in and out. I thought it was pretty clean. I mean, outside of a few walks, I thought our guys really really responded to the internal meetings we had yesterday, and just some perspective stuff going into the rest of the year. Making sure that we’re controlling the narrative and how we go through this and everything we want is right in front of us. So it’s a good sign for our crew tonight.”
On if he knows what his starting rotation could be next weekend
“(Pitching coach Josh) Reyn(olds) and I will talk about it tomorrow. I would imagine it will change a little bit. We’ve talked about our challenge right now has been how do we finish games better? We’re right there in a lot of these games. And, again, you can go match up, you can go make up, you can look at numbers and a lot of different things. But I do think we’ll end up changing it a little bit.”
