Tennessee baseball head coach Josh Elander met with the media following the Vols’ 16-6 extra-innings loss to LSU in Sunday’s series rubber match inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Elander discussed what went wrong in the 12th inning as LSU plated 10 runs, and specifically what he saw on a pair of infield singles in the 9th to tie the game and in the 12th to give LSU a 7-6 lead.
Things spiraled for Tennessee in the 12th as the Vols’ pitching fell apart. The Tigers scored 10 in the frame en route to the 10-run extra-inning win. LSU catcher/designated hitter Cade Arrambide hit four homers in the win, becoming the first person to ever leave the yard against Tennessee in program history.
RECAP: Tennessee Baseball Drops Series Rubber Match Against LSU In Extra Innings
The loss drops Tennessee to 20-12 on the season and 4-8 in league play. A road series at Mississippi State is up next for UT.
Watch Elander’s entire post-game press conference below.
“I think there’s a lot of different things,” Elander said when asked what Tennessee needs to do to finish games better. “You have to limit the free 90-feets for sure, whether it be hit-by pitches or walks. Again, we got to make sure that when you come in out of the bullpen, you compete with conviction instead of just fluttering pitches in there, especially in SEC lineups that can do damage. And there has to be a belief that they can get it done together. And I think what we’ve been through, there’s definitely some scars we’re continuing to work through it.
“But I thought our guys competed. They could have laid down, but for Levi to be able to get that sac fly and work together, show some good signs of offensive execution, which we did not throughout the course of the game today. But we just need to be better in all facets, and we got a chance to do it starting on Tuesday.”
