CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — VCU third baseman Nate Kirkpatrick turned on a 2-2 Brady Frederick breaking ball, lining it down the left field line for a two-RBI double that gave the Rams a three-run lead they never relinquished in Tennessee’s 5-4 season-ending loss against VCU.
Cam Appenzeller came in to pitch with one out in the sixth inning and promptly retired all eight batters he faced, but that didn’t end up mattering as the Vols were unable to overcome the three-run deficit. Did Tennessee consider going to Appenzeller in the fifth inning?
“No, there wasn’t at that point,” Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said. “Again, Tegan was a curveball, we were gonna see what we kind of got. … We thought we were going to be able to get 80, 90 pitches out of Tegan. We weren’t able to get there.
“With Appy throwing yesterday, with his future and his career, we got to be careful. I thought he was about 40 pitches. That’s what we were going to be able to get today. That was our attempt to try to bridge to get to him.”
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Maybe Tennessee didn’t believe Appenzeller could get ready in time to pitch the fifth inning with the unexpected short outing from Kuhns.
But wanting to bridge between starting pitchers and top relievers has been a common them with how Elander and pitching coach Josh Reynolds have managed games this season. With the Vols’ low on reliable relief pitchers, they have often thrown less trustworthy pitches and lost their footing in games before they could get to their better relievers.
It’s a different to how Tony Vitello and Frank Anderson managed games, often going to Tennessee’s best relievers in the middle innings when the game felt most fragile.
It was a difficult bullpen for Elander to manage this season due to the low quantity of dependable arms. Time will tell if Elander adjusts his philosophy next season.
“I think the game has told us we need to make some adjustments,” Elander said. “We’ll make those in the offseason. Excited to continue to get better.”
