CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Tennessee baseball’s season is on the brink after dropping its NCAA Tournament opener 7-3 against East Carolina in 14 innings. The loss puts Tennessee in a major hole as they must win four straight games to win the regional.
“Just need to execute a little bit better,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said postgame. “That was the difference today. But, we’ll get home and rest up and get ready to rock and roll tomorrow.”
Elander noted that he was proud of the way his team competed, scoring a run in both the ninth and 13th inning with their backs against the wall. And that is what Elander should have wanted to see from his team. But in actuality, it only made Tennessee’s odds of climbing out of the loser’s bracket even longer.
Playing 14 innings, Tennessee’s pitchers combined to throw 209 total pitches. Evan Blanco provided a great seven-inning start, but Tennessee still had to exhaust much of its bullpen.
Top bullpen arms Brandon Arvidson (27 pitches), Bo Rhudy (52 pitches) and Cam Appenzeller (14 pitches) all threw against East Carolina.
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“I think at this time, everybody should be all hands on deck,” Elander said of Tennessee’s remaining pitchers. “And he was just gassed at the end. I think he was over 55 pitches. You could tell he was starting to waver a little bit. He was telling me he was good, but the way he’s looking, I don’t know if he was.”
While no one is burned for the weekend, each pitcher only has so many more pitches left int he chamber. As Tennessee uses them more, they will wear down and be less effective.
Tegan Kuhns will likely start on Saturday and the Vols need their ace to give them a long outing. Beyond that, it’s unclear where Tennessee can return. Landon Mack’s status remains uncertain this weekend though he is on the active roster.
Winning three straight games against some combination of East Carolina and North Carolina will be extremely challenging without Kuhns’ available. It will be nearly impossible without both Kuhns and Mack.
“Our guys, you’re in this spot and you either got to find a way to get it done or you’re not,” Elander said. “It’s pretty simple equation moving forward. Our guys just need to compete.”
