Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander met with the local media on Monday morning in Knoxville before the Vols leave for this week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover. The Vols open up postseason play on Tuesday afternoon when they face 15-seed South Carolina.
Ahead of the tournament, Elander discussed pitching plans for the week, Tennessee’s offensive hot streak and more. Here’s everything Elander said.
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On his assessment of the Tennessee offense vs. Oklahoma
“Really good job by the guys swinging the bat. It was an offensive environment. That wind was really blowing out there in Oklahoma, but really good to see Levi (Clark) and Henry (Ford) getting some baseballs – really swinging well. But Reese (Chapman), the way he swung the last day too, putting together three or four hits and using the whole field. I thought the guys were doing a good job of swinging the bat. And there’s some really good arms for Oklahoma too. Friday guy’s up to 98 (mph). Saturday’s guy up to 98 (mph). So, good job of our guys navigating that weekend together.”
On balancing trying to win in Hoover while also concentrating on getting right for regionals the following weekend
“I guess the first one is we’ll roll Appenzeller (Cam Appenzeller) to start. He’ll be our starting pitcher tomorrow (vs. South Carolina). He’s a guy we’re excited about when we get down there. I know he likes the big moment. It’s a really cool venue. One of the best weeks of the year getting down there. I just think the SEC does an amazing job of putting on a first-class event in all capacity for fans and player development. We want to make sure our pitching is in a good spot going into the next week. There’s some questions that we need to get answered there as well. We’ll attack on Tuesday and go from there.”
On some questions that need to be answered by the pitching staff in Hoover
“I think a little bit is it just depends on what are we going to get out of those guys and what capacity, right? Who’s the guy that can get us a ground ball? Who’s the guy that can get us a punch out? And we just want guys to compete a little bit. There’s been a little bit of up-and-down there, but I just want to get those guys slotted. Usually, this time of year, there is a little bit better system on how you go about it. We haven’t had that up to this point, but it doesn’t mean we can’t moving forward.”
On this thoughts of the SEC implementing the ABS challenge system for the SEC Tournament
“I think it’s a cool idea. I’m just excited to see the strategy and how people use it. I know, as far as looking at the parameters of what the strike zone is, I know they’re actually going to measure our players, so that’s kind of cool. That’ll be a little bit different experience for them. But I know the pitchers, they’re always going to think it’s a strike when it’s called a ball and the hitters, vice versa, think it’s a ball when it’s called a strike. So, we’re actually going to connect with some of our pro connections today, see like, “Hey, is there any rules or parameters? How do we go about that?” And we’ll talk with our guys. There is a little bit of a strategy element, but I think it’s cool that SEC continues to be on the forefront of whether it be the double base or implementing stuff like this. I think, they’re doing it at the big league level and we’re all for anything they’re doing up there because that’s where our guys are going to end up eventually.”
On who he trusts on the roster to make the ABS challenges
“I don’t think it’s really one guy more than the other. I think it’s just having some feel in the moment. I think if it’s an 0-0 pitch, it’s very different than an 0-2 pitch or a 1-2 pitch. So, I think just having those conversations with the guys, trusting them and usually the older guys maybe have a little bit better feel for that. But I think all our guys are capable of making those decisions.”
On what the message is to the team going into Hoover
“They had the day off yesterday, so we’ll meet with them here briefly. Just going to compete. At this time of year, anytime you can get more reps going into the postseason, it’s a big deal. You can usually do some different things with the lineup or with the pitching down here that we don’t have the luxury to do throughout the course of SEC play just with the quick turnaround from the last weekend. So, we just want to get better. That’s what we need to do is get down there. Let the guys enjoy the environment and compete a little bit. But there’s plenty of ball left to be played and guys need to enjoy the moment but get out of the gates together.”
On if he has made any pitching decisions past Cam Appenzeller starting on Tuesday
“No, because it’ll be completely day-to-day from there. As we’re going through some of these deals, want to make sure that the guys are in a good position. They’re built up. Some guys may need a little bit more rest. Some guys need to throw some more. So, it’s a delicate balance. And as we go through each game, it’ll be attack the first game and then figure it out from there. I know in the past we’ve been there, we’ve been fortunate to play deep into this deal a few times since we’ve been here. Again, you get to the end and a guy is starting a championship game that hasn’t really thrown much at all on the year, much less in SEC. So, it’s an interesting thing to navigate, but we’ll get with Reyn (Josh Reynolds) and the rest of the staff to make sure that they keep the end goal in mind. But also, too, we’re attacking each day.”
On if Landon Mack will be available to pitch in Hoover
“No major updates there with Mack. We’re letting him go through his deal. He will be on the roster, the 34-man roster, but it’s still day-to-day. They had the day off yesterday and then today I haven’t seen him yet. We’ll meet a little bit earlier before we hop on the bus. So, kind of a day-to-day deal. We’ll keep going through there, but that’s the update as of now.”
On if Landon Mack needs more rest or further testing and what is the plan for him moving forward
“I know he’s working through that with Woody (Jeff Wood) and Dr. Klenk (Chris Klenck), and he’s got people in his camp that are helping him as well. But I don’t really have any specific time on it at this point. We’re giving him space to kind of go through this deal, but hoping to get back out there sooner rather than later.”
On Elander telling John Wilkerson that Mack had a decision to make, what that decision would be
“Yeah, the only decision that’s been made as of now, as of this moment, is he will be on the roster for the SEC Tournament. So he’s going to be one of our 34 spots, and then everything else is day-to-day as he continues to go through his process.”
On how different the postseason feels now that he’s the head coach
“Yeah, I mean, that’s a good question. Really at this point this year, my mentality is how do we serve the players and get them in a position to have success. And I don’t look at this any different as the other ones. It’s how do we invest and make sure our players are ready to compete. And there’s a lot of new faces on the roster from this year to last year, but there are some holdovers that have played in postseason and know what the moments are like. And a lot of times, like, it’s good with our staff that has a lot of postseason experience and has been to Omaha and won national championships. It’s a lot of times you got to get them to slow down. The emotions go crazy. They’re not going to be short on energy. We’re going to play in great environments. So I think that’ll be the key is just making sure we put them in a position and then let them drive the car from there.”
On if Tegan Kuhns could potentially throw Wednesday or if they would want to avoid him throwing on five days rest back-to-back weeks
“Yeah, that’s a good question. We haven’t got there yet. I think it just kind of depends on how it goes out. I mean, Tegan has been so good for us and what he’s grinded through. I know that everyone wants to talk about the Texas outing or the Alabama, what he did. But what he did last week was one of my favorites. To not have his best stuff and continue to grind for his teammates, late in the year and stay out there and want to be out there throughout the course of the game. And then a little bit of a mess, he cleans it up himself and gets out of there and grinds through. So, again, we’re always going to keep— Tegan is going to pitch in the big leagues for a while. I think he’s going to go really, really good in the draft. He’s earned that by how he’s gone through this deal. So, we’ll keep that in mind. But, yeah, honestly, we’re just trying to get that first day we’ll roll and then we’ll decide from there.”
On if the offense over the last month is the one he expected to see before the season
“It’s good to see those guys just settle in. And again, if you look at the— how we’ve hit on fastballs or barrel percentage or all these different measures that you can look at, we were confident from what they produced in the fall that eventually over the course of the sample size— I think Levi’s the perfect example— struggled a little bit, but now as we have the full sample, as we get close to 56 games— he was incredible for us in SEC play. I think some of those guys are continuing to get better throughout the course of the year. That’s what you hope with the offense is there’s a big jump when you get to SEC. There’s so many good arms in the league, but the more you face them, usually the more the guys calm down.
They have a better feel for how to navigate at-bats, how to make adjustments game to game or in-game. Pitch-to-pitch adjustments is really what we’re looking for. Those guys are swinging the bats with confidence, which is good.
“But probably my favorite thing is Trent’s having an amazing year. Again, obviously, barrel on the ball. But his situational hitting, the selflessness to lay down a bunt when we need to. Reese lays down a bunt versus Alabama. Like, little things like that. We’re playing good team baseball. And Jay hits a ground ball to short with the infield back. Like, that is what you want as an offense. Like, individual guys that can do damage, but also within the concept of the team and execution and working together to win. I think they’ve done a better job of that on the stretch.”
On Trent Grindlinger’s production in SEC play as a freshman
“It’s very impressive. I think it just goes to makeup. And everybody asks recruiting, how do I play as a freshman? What do you do? And we always say, like, hey, once you get between the lines, competition is king. You can go get what you want and create your own future. And he’s done that. I think just with the way he swung the bat in the fall and defensively continues to get better and better, he’s going to be a really good catcher for us in the future.
“But just had the right mindset. There was never pouting when he wasn’t in there. He’s just trying to get better each day, and then he gets his moment and takes advantage of it. And now he’s got to be in there every day. He’s earned that right.”
On what he saw from Cam Appenzeller on Thursday and why they decided to start him
“Yeah, I mean, I think the world of App. I thought he was Appy when he threw. Again, just commanding the strike zone. I thought his tempo and his delivery was better. He wasn’t as rushed. At times it looked like he’s been kind of just kind of jumping at the plate, and that arm swing was a little bit behind. But physically, I think as we’ve gone through. The pitch count has been lower the last few weeks. He’s had extra time with Keegan to get his feet back underneath him. But when he throws strikes and he’s in attack mode, he’s as good as anybody. So I know we were joking after the game. Welcome back, Appy. It was good to see him do his deal, but a ton of confidence in him always. And I know he’s excited to get the ball tomorrow.”
