Tennessee baseball head coach Josh Elander met with the media following the Vols’ 2-1 loss to Kent State Saturday.The defeat marked Tennessee’s first loss of the young 2026 season. The Vols’ offense fell flat, hitting 5-32 including an abysmal 0-11 with runners in scoring position.
Elander shared his thoughts on the poor offensive effort, starting pitcher Landon Mack’s above-average start, Brandon Arvidson’s strong season debut, a few defensive errors and more.
See everything Elander said below.
On not hitting well with runners in scoring position or on base…
“I think a little bit of guys just trying to do too much. We had ducks on the phone all night, didn’t execute at all up to our standards. A lot of times in this league, or regardless who you’re playing now in college baseball, you don’t get a lot of redos. There are none, right? So, you need to do a little bit better job of guys kind of chasing down the strike zone, over-swing, and just need to slow down in that moment a little bit better.”
On Landon Mack’s outing…
“Elite stuff. He was trying to stay out there a little bit longer, but we got him right over that 90-pitch count mark. That was the one great thing of the night – him and Art (Brandon Arvidson) really threw the baseball well. It gives us a lot of confidence. We’re stacking those two up moving forward in the next week.”
On Brandon Arvidson’s season-debut…
“It’s just real stuff. There’s a different world where he’s healthy and probably starts on the weekend for us out of the gate. We’ll play it safe with him. It’s a mature guy that has really come a long way mentally from where he was last year to this year. The stuff continues to get better and he’s a guy we are very confident in.”
On the pickle rundown where Jay Abernathy was tagged out at home in the second inning…
“That is a standard fundamental contact play right there. You force the defense to play catch. If they do play catch like they did, then we get Ariel (Antigua) up in a scoring position. We’ve done it over the years and that’s something we’ll stick with all the time.”
On the disappointment in 16 strikeouts but not getting a win…
“I think that’s an easy way to look at it, but we talk about winning and losing as a team all the time. There’s going to be times where we win games 10-8 or 12-11. I think that’s one way you can look at it, but our guys know they need to execute a little bit better. There’s no doubt. Excited the way those guys threw the baseball.”
On Kent State and how they are a good ball club…
“Just a great club. They’re coached very, very well. They attack the strike zone. They got a freshman coming out with some good stuff there at the end. Most of their pitchers, nothing is really straight. They’re attacking the strike zone, holding runners. They can beat you in different ways. The right fielder really drives the ball to left center. They can bunt on you. It’s a tougher team to prepare for, but they’re not scared in the right out of the gate. So, if you don’t keep the ball in front, you don’t execute when you get guys on base, they’re going to get you like they got us tonight.”
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On if he expects Reese Chapman to be available Sunday:
“I think it’s a wait to see. I hope so. I mean, that’s a tough phone call to get in the morning, but again, I want to keep the big picture deal that’s been running through our clubhouse for the last week or so. So hopefully we’re on the tail end of that, because obviously we want Reese in there as much as we can.”
On Levi Clark’s first week and what can get him going:
“Either way, it’s just one week, right? I think Levi’s going to be one of the better players in the conference this year, so we’ll keep running him out there. Got a ton of confidence in him. Was one of the best players in the Cape [Cod] last year and one of the best hitters on the planet there for about two months early in the year (2024). So, nothing but a 100 percent confidence in him and I can’t wait to see him play tomorrow.”
On what he’s looking for in the team’s response Sunday:
“I think you find out a lot about your team after the first loss, right? We’ve made it a big theme around here to show up on Sundays, better than we did last year in ‘25. So, this is our first test, and hopefully we get Reese [Chapman] back in the building tomorrow, but guys should be bouncing around and ready to rock ‘n’ roll because I know Kent State will.”
On how he would evaluate the defense:
“Not good enough. You just gotta keep the ball in front. I think our guys have done a tremendous job, but sometimes when the game speeds up a little bit, guys can get in trouble. So, very simple, just need to keep the ball in front a little bit better, and I’m confident our guys will.”
On if situations like Sunday (rubber matches) are why he wanted Evan Blanco’s veteran presence as the Day 3 starter:
“I think maturity, yeah. Regardless of what day of the week, I think all those guys… you can interchange them on any and every day and feel good about it. The way he (Evan Blanco) threw the ball last week, [I have] a ton of confidence going in and only using the the two [pitchers] tonight, we’ll have the pen loaded up, and there’s still some young guys we need to get out there that have really good stuff that I’m excited to see how they do.”
