Tennessee baseball blew a ninth inning lead only for Blake Grimmer to hit a walk off homer and the Vols to earn a 4-2 victory over USC Upstate on Tuesday night. The Vols overcame a quiet night from their offense to earn the midweek victory.
Following the game, Tennessee head coach Josh Elander discussed the walk off homer, this weekend’s series at Vanderbilt and much more. Here’s everything Elander said.
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On what a walk-off win can do for Tennessee heading into this weekend’s series at Vanderbilt
“There were some things we did well and there were some things we did not do well at all tonight, but never take for granted a chance to win a ball game on your home field, and to be able to have where we feel if we get to hit last at our home park, we feel good about it. So really good to see Grim (Blake Grimmer) get that swing. But there’s some things we’ll adjust. But anytime you win a ball game is a good day.”
On Blake Grimmer going 0-for-4 prior to his walk-off home run, striking out on three pitches in the prior at-bat
“I just think he slowed down a little bit. I mean, that was a very uncharacteristic at-bat, the one before, just kind of swinging through some breaking balls that honestly really weren’t even competitive pitches at that point. So again, even though he’s been in the program a while, it is still baseball. Sometimes guys have to fight in those big moments of, it’s usually do less. You know, human nature is you think you swing harder, do things a little bit better, but usually, when the guys just relax and play baseball like he did in the ninth, you get the result that you want.”
On the team’s response after blowing the lead in the top of the ninth, Levi Clark not chasing a 3-2 breaking ball to walk with one out before the Grimmer homer
“It was a great at-bat. I mean, that was good stuff. The guys up to 93 (mph) right there, mixing and matching. I think he threw him like three — after the 3-1 fastball he fouled off — I think he threw three or four in a row, and just fighting to stay to it, try to stay in the middle of the field, and early in the game, I thought that was the issue with our club. We were just around everything, shooting balls at me all night long. You know, foul by third base on slower breaking balls. But (Clark) taking that walk, I think it lets everybody exhale a little bit in our dugout, but also puts a lot more pressure on their side. It was really cool to see Grimm to land them on their leg.”
On how unique it is for him to write out the lineup right now with three catchers — Stone Lawless, Levi Clark and Trent Grindlinger — forcing the issue
“With three or four, it’s kind of funny, because (Garrett Wright) can do it too at a high level. I think he’s getting closer and closer (to being able to catch after dealing with an injury). But those guys are good kids and good ball players, and that’s what we want. Tonight was cool to be able to get everybody in there, and get Jay (Abernathy) back in the mix, and then Newy (Chris Newstrom) back in there. So again, my challenge to those guys is, whatever the nine is, we’ll figure it out as we go. But we don’t have the luxury right now where it’s, ‘Hey, these are our nine every day.’ And my challenge for them is, that’s what we want as a coaching staff. So again, we need to be able to get there eventually, but to be able to mix and match. I mean, (Tyler) Myatt, what he continues to bring off the bench and hammer baseballs, and just have a good attitude. I think that’ll be a difference maker for us.”
On Tennessee’s bullpen battling through adversity
“They were great. I mean, Reyn (Josh Reynolds) has done a great job with those guys. Nic Abraham — well, if you go back to (Brady) Frederick, I thought he was great. He comes in and a fire again, and puts it out, and he continues to get a little bit more confidence, and hopefully that does and gives him more confidence going into SEC play, which will be his third go-around this coming weekend.
“But Abraham was really good, too, changing speeds. I thought (Bo) Rudy was good, too. You know, obviously gives a couple doubles there late, but competing in the strike zone and not walking guys, not giving up free passes.
“And then, you know, credit to our defense being able to defend that safety (squeeze) right there. I thought that was really kind of the turning point in the game right there. But, you know, they continue to throw strikes. But we got to be better offensively, for sure.”
On Tennessee sophomore Jay Abernathy only being able to advance to third in the seventh inning when Tyler Myatt singled to right field
“It is a difficult play. But we always tell our guys, if the read is right, the number of outs is irrelevant, right? So in that case, you have one out, you’re going to err on trying to score right there in any capacity, and that ball was crushed, and that guy can really throw that’s in right field, but one that’s at that lower-launch angle, you want the guys to stay off and work towards third base, or open to the ball and let it play out. And Jay will tell you — he’s a pro — he’s just a little in between right there, and then it hits up off the wall, we don’t have a chance to get him in there. Mistakes like that at times can get you beat in league play. Our guys know that, and so we need to adjust, and we’ll get better about it, but yeah, that’s one we need to do a little bit better.”
On Vols freshman LHP Taylor Tracey allowing three walks in the first inning
“Just, it wasn’t crisp for whatever reason. I thought, even just like the body language of how he’s moving around on the mound, he just didn’t seem comfortable for whatever the reason was today. So we’ll meet with him tomorrow. Got a ton of confidence in him. He’s been really good for us for three or four straight weeks, and he’s got really good stuff. I thought the velo was up to 92, 93 again today. I know we had a little bit better weather, but you know, you can’t walk the first two guys in the game, and everybody knows that, and he knows that. So, you know, we’ll make those adjustments, but still got a ton of confidence in him moving forward.”
On Brady Frederick coming in twice this season to stop the onslaught in the first inning
“It’s massive, but hopefully that’s not a theme where he’s coming in the first inning a lot. He’s a guy I just have a ton of confidence and I know he’s going to throw strikes. Reyn (Josh Reynolds) did a good job with him today, kind of going a little bit more north and south with the heater. He’s been getting jumped. They’ve been ambushing him and shooting balls through the middle. Threw some good changeups and some good sliders. So, I think as he continues to hit different quadrants with the strike zone, it’ll get more success, not only versus lefties, but righties as well. But he’s a guy that I feel comfortable with whether it’s the first to put out a fire, ending the game in the ninth or fifth if you need a punchout or double play ball. He’s a true Swiss Army knife.”
On where Chris Newstrom is for Tennessee since returning from Arlington earlier this month
“We’ve met a few times now up in the office and we all feel the same way. We’re not getting the results that we want, so at this point, we’re continuing to go through the process and make sure that he’s doing the work that he needs each day to continue to get better because he’s extremely talented. Extremely talented, but we look at some quality of that percentage and some hard contact stuff, so we try to give him some objective measures that he can look at. We even talked about up in the office, just kind of hitting the reset button. There’s plenty of year left. You’re 50 at-bats in, but there’s plenty ABs (at-bats) left. The competition within the team, that’s going to continue to be a theme. With how talented he is, he’s going to continue to get opportunities.”
On if there is an update on Henry Ford
“For guys with the talent of Henry’s, we’d all love to have him in the lineup every day, but you know that guy is going to play baseball for a long time. So, a little bit under the weather. We just wanted to play it safe, just like we did last week. We were texting before the game and he seemed to be in good spirits and all that. Keeping the kid’s best interest in mind long-term. I’ll get with him tonight. I’ll call him as soon as we leave here, check in and see how he’s doing and then get with Woody (Jeff Wood) and those guys. But don’t really see any big concerns long-term with that.”
On what stands out about Tennessee and Vanderbilt for this weekend
“Competition, right? A lot of good memories. I mean going back, but the last few they got us last year, so we’ll have a little history lesson with our guys tomorrow. It’s another Southeastern Conference series on the road. You got to go in and compete – that’s the key. But I have some great memories of watching Evan Russell hit three home runs and guys kind of turning the page, and so I know our guys will be excited for what’s coming up this weekend in Nashville.”
