HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee baseball’s run at the SEC Tournament came to a close on Wednesday night when Arkansas defeated the Vols 8-4. The Razorbacks jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back, largely cruising to the victory.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander discussed Evan Blanco’s poor start, the Vols’ offensive improvement and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.
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Opening statement
“Not the result we were looking for today. But congrats to Arkansas. They really landed on some balls today. Those were hit a long way. I thought our guys did a good job staying in the fight. We’ll go home, rest up, get ready for our next task.”
On how he would assess Evan Blanco’s start
“Yeah, I think just the breaking stuff was not as sharp as usual tonight. I just love that he got out there and competed. Again, obviously not his best stuff.
And credit to Arkansas, they had a good approach. They were sitting on pitches, and they landed on them. And some of those were hit a long way.
But, again, he’s a guy we have a ton of confidence in down the stretch. And he’s a guy that sometimes he’d say, hey, I can’t throw it today or whatnot. But him getting the ball today will give Tegan a chance to get a little bit more of a breather after those guys have been really grinding down the stretch. So him being a really good teammate there. That off the street will be crisper next time he gets out and we’ll get a little bit more rest and get back to work.”
On the challenge of playing from behind
“That’s a great question. I mean in a perfect world, there’s a lot of different ways to win the game. Again, I think at this point in the year, we’ve been through the mud and had some — we’ve won a lot of different ways and lost some different ways.
I want our guys to buy in that there’s nine innings. So if you’re up by five in the fourth inning, you can’t get giddy. If you’re down by five there’s plenty of game left.
I thought there was a little bit of a lull in the middle of the game today which that was my challenge for the guys going into next week. It can swing back and forth both ways. But you’ve got to stay in it. And I think we can do a little bit better job of that going into next week.”
On what he makes of Evan Blanco giving up 3-plus runs in the first inning of three straight starts
“I think today, I mean, each one is mutually exclusive. I mean the ball’s flying in Oklahoma City. He’s attacking the strike zone. And today again they landed on some pitches.
This is just his off speed stuff is not as clear as breaking ball. And, again, he’s kind of grinding through for us right there. So him and Reyn will make those adjustments, we’ll get him right back out there.
But one walk, again, three strikeouts is probably the one that’s a little bit lower. He’s a guy that can punch some guys out. If he’s throwing the ball over the plate and our guys are playing defense we’ll role with Blanco any day.”
On where he feels like his team is at entering the NCAA Tournament
“Well, I think we’ve been challenged all year. I mean we had a it’s a young team that now has some reps, so that’s where at the end of the year our guys need to — one of my favorite parts about this time of year is now you’re just competing for more time together as a group. You’re only guaranteed a few more games or whatever it may be, so there shouldn’t be any more motivation needed.
But I think going through the challenges and having some scars and having some successes, it gives them perspective going into the postseason. And we play in the SEC and it’s a bear, so it will get you ready for the postseason.
But I think offensively the guys have really been swinging it well. It’s been good to get Jay and those guys some versatility, moving them around and getting them some different spots.
We’ll give us some options lineup-wise once we see what the match-ups look like. And then pitching wise it was good to get Appy that box checks, and Haas has really throwing the ball well. And we got Tegan some rest. That’s a small victory there. So those guys are fresh ready to go next week.”
On how the two days in Hoover can help his team moving forward
“Well, I think just the environment, I mean I know tonight we’re getting closer to the nightcap. It’s a great stadium and it’s a different space, whether you’re playing on the road or even just playing — we play on turf at home. And getting to play on a natural surface and dealing with the ABS and all the media stuff, now with college baseball as it continues to become bigger and bigger across the country there’s more eyes on it. And I think that will help guys as we get to the postseason because for some of these guys it will be their first time doing it here in a Tennessee uniform or it’s some freshmen that will be doing it.”
On what the team plans to do between now and Monday
“Sure, we’ll keep it moving. We definitely are going to get some rest, make sure they need to hydrate, reset. We’ll get them back to Knoxville as soon as we can. And then that’s the beauty of having Keegan Knoll on our staff. I mean, a former Major League strength coach that’s got a ton of experience of how do you navigate the hot part of the summer with also you still have baseball to play, and what do they need to be as fresh as possible for next week.
But that will be one of the main focuses right there, and then just keep it moving as far as ground balls and swings. We’ll do some live ABs and some other things. We’ve had a couple of years where we’ve done it like this.
So we’ll kind of look back and see how we’ve done that and adjust for whatever’s best for this club. But we’ll get back to Knoxville. We’ll get some boxes checked before we get going again.”
On Garrett Wright’s versatility and the depth of the catcher room
“We’re very blessed with those guys, not only all incredibly talented and capable of being number one catchers in the league, but they’re great kids, too. They work hard. They bring incredible leadership qualities and they’re great teammates. We’ve been very, very lucky with that group. And the thing that I think is cool there’s never really any fighting.
They’re all rooting for each other, and we’re able to get Stone and Garrett back there tonight. Stone does a good job coming off the bench.
Garrett’s a unique player, and he made himself some money in the draft this weekend just with what he did, swinging the bat and leaving the yard.
I mean, he threw that ball to second today. I didn’t get a watch on it, but I knew it was pretty good, that throw to second.
He’s capable of playing both positions in the middle of the field at a high level, and he’s just had so many winning qualities, and a lot of our catchers do. He’s been good for us down the stretch.”
On if there are any updates on Landon Mack and Reese Chapman
“I’ll talk to Landon as soon as we’re done here today. No update there. Hopefully we’ll have something. Today’s Wednesday, hopefully early next week we’ll have a pretty good feel.
But him and I have been — not today — but we’ll be in contact. And then Reese it seems to be, we’re hoping to have him back sooner rather than later. We’ll see how that one plays out but I’ll get with those two guys tonight.”
