HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee baseball opened up postseason play in the win column Tuesday night, knocking off South Carolina 11-6 in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander discussed Cam Appenzeller’s start, Reese Chapman’s injury and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.
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Opening statement
“Pretty good night by these two (Cam Appenzeller and Garrett Wright) here. Hoover always continues to be a great event, and really good job by our guys to get out of the gates and swing the bat a little bit. And Appy threw the ball well. So good to be able to check that first box tonight and excited for the game tomorrow.”
On how Reese Chapman’s injury happened, his status
“Yeah, we were just running out to practice here at the Met getting the guys ready. Outfield is running around, and it was just kind of a freak accident — a ball got hit and it clipped him in the right spot.
And we were with him last night over at UAB and I think the staff here did a phenomenal job making sure he was in the best of hands. Woody did a great job.
He’s back in Knoxville tonight, and he’s going to get that thing worked on, as far as the actual timeline of what we’re looking at, I’m just glad Reese is in good spirits and we’ll see how it plays out over the next few days.
It was a pretty scary moment. But thank goodness he seems to be in a better spot than what we thought from the beginning.”
On if Chapman’s out for the SEC Tournament
“That’s a great question. I don’t have the answer to to that at this time. So as soon as we get some more information from the doctors and the people that are with him we’ll let you guys know.”
On his confidence in Cam Appenzeller
“Incredibly confident. It’s funny, you look on here, he’s a very humble, hardworking kid. He’s talking about not having his best stuff. But the guy’s 5-1. Maybe his ERA isn’t as pretty as it was a month or two ago.
But last two games at OU and here tonight he gave us a chance to win an SEC game. And to be able to do that as a true freshman and grind through and just take the ball — again, he’s been amazing for us all year long.
I know you’re never going to have success be completely linear for sure. But that guy’s a winner and I’m glad he’s on our team every day. And I’m thankful anytime I can hand him the ball.”
On if he knows who will start against Arkansas
“Yeah, we’re going to roll with Evan Blanco tomorrow at the gate, and then we’ll go from there.”
On if Blanco will be on a pitch count
“I’ll get to specifics with Reyn (Josh Reynolds) but Blanco and I were talking about it off, again, how he threw at OU, he feels really, really good. The guy’s an elite competitor, wants the baseball. And we’ll get into the specifics, but there’s not any kind of hard pitch count as of now that we’ve discussed.”
On if he’s gaining confidence in Will Haas as a bullpen option
“One-hundred percent. I think just the mentality that he brings, he’s a really tough kid and he loves to get out there and compete. And the stuff is getting better and better.
In high school he was 93, 96 and won a lot of big games. I’m pretty sure he was a state champion his last year. He was a big part of that. So he likes the big moment. But the stuff is starting to catch back up and carry and be a little bit more consistent throughout his outings.
I believe he hit 96 tonight for the first time since post surgery. The guy who’s going to compete objectively. It’s really good stuff. It’s a unique slot that’s hard to prepare for. He has three pitches, so pretty fortunate to have Appy and Haas. Those two young freshmen lefties are going to be good here for us a while.”
On if there’s any new updates with Landon Mack
“No further updates at this time. That’s still a day-to-day deal. I haven’t talked to Landon today. But when we have any kind of update we’ll be sure to share.”
On Nate Eisfelder’s two-RBI double
“Just phenomenal at-bat. I mean that guy has good stuff. I mean, Stone’s sinking and throwing some cutters, mixing in some four seems today kind of out of nowhere.
But just battling through grinding through instead of giving in right there. And that was a huge point in the game to be able to get that ball in the gap, score a few more runs and give us some breathing room. It gave us the opportunity to go to Krenzel and see what he can do, and as we’re trying to get some questions answered over there as well.
But he’s a guy that can hit. He’s always hit. He’s going to hit. And he wants to be in there. So it’s good to see him take advantage of that moment.”
On the importance of this tournament heading into the NCAA Tournament
“That’s a great question. It’s just over the years, just to see how different coaches are approaching and whatnot, and that’s up to them how they do it.
But a theme around here for a long time is you get a chance to win a ball game, let’s go play a game. I know our players are excited to be here. We have some returning guys, but a lot of these guys, it’s their first time they’ve been here because they’re freshmen, some transfers and these kids in other conferences watch this tournament on TV and want to play in it, and I know our guys are excited to be here and play baseball.
It’s kind of unique this year where we don’t play South Carolina for the first time in who knows how many years. We get to play them, and then Arkansas is not on the schedule, now we’ll get to play them. Just a chance to get better. And this time of year, one more day with your guys, with your team, might as well take advantage of it.”
On if he can tell early on whether Appenzeller has his best stuff
“Well, I think with him, he’s saying “my stuff, my stuff.” He’s up to 92, 93 early in the game today.
Again, we needed stuff for feeling good, we need to make him eat more. He’s skinny. But he will be. And he’ll take care of his business. But his tempo, he said he thinks he’s moving slow, I think for him at times moving slower in his mind, I mean, I don’t want to speak for him, but when his tempo of his delivery, when he gets into the back hip and rides down the mound, his arm sequence is so much better and it gives him more take off the heater and more angle when he tries to drive it into the right-handed hitters.
But he’s tough on himself. But his stuff’s plenty good enough. It’s always been good enough, and only will continue to get better as he gets older and is around Keegan and the resources we have at Tennessee. His stuff is just fine.”
On why Stone Lawless didn’t start
“I think with Reese thing that originally he was going to be, and I don’t have any issue telling you guys that. But then I just think that looking at some of the numbers, stuff for match-ups, and then Reese goes down, there were so many different combinations we could roll with.
And I know it was important with Levi, when we recruited him four or five years ago, to get to catch. He’s done a great job and working his tail off back there. So that’s when we’ve gone out of our way to make sure we continue to check that box.
He’s caught on some mid-week games, and I know this is unique being in the SEC Tournament, but Stone’s someone that I have a ton of faith in, and I love that kid, and he’s a winner. But we are very fortunate this year we are able to move some pieces around and we are very deep behind the plate at catcher. And they’re all capable of doing it at a high level.”
On Henry Ford’s hot streak
“Yeah, I think Henry’s, he’s such a smart hitter. You go to the conference he was in and this conference, navigating new places, new people, new crowds. He’s very talented. Just the way he goes about his whole process, he’s meticulous with his prep, but he also asks great questions. And instead of surface level, yes or yes, sir, he’s like, okay, why are we doing this? Or what is the objective?
But he’s got a really good feel for his swing. Essentially, he’s a great hitter. We all know that. I know he’s hitting whatever it is, 309. A guy we have a ton of confidence in. It’s just sometimes we just want him to stay in attack mode and be loose, not to think his way through his at-bats and compete because he’s pretty danged good when does that.
