KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Saturday, February 21, the Tennessee Volunteers were defeated by the Kent State Golden Flashes 2-1.
For Tennessee, it is their first loss of the season as their record moves to 5-1 on the season.
The main struggle for Tennessee was hitting with runners on base. The Volunteers were 0 for 15 in at-bats with runners on base.
Tennessee head coach Josh Elander talked about the struggles his team had at the plate in the loss against the Golden Flashes.
“I think our guys were trying to do too much,” Elander stated. “We had ducks on the pound all night and didn’t execute. You do not get any redos these days in college baseball.”
Elander talks about what makes Kent State a tough mid-major team
Kent State is 4-2 this season after its win over Tennessee. Their two losses this season came against Tennessee on Friday night and LSU on Monday. The Golden Flashes lost those two games by a combined four runs.
Elander talked about what makes Kent State such a tough team.
“They are coached very well,” the Tennessee head coach said. “They attack the strike zone with pitching, and almost none of their pitches are straight. They can beat you in so many ways.”
Breaking down Landon Mack’s start against Kent State
A great part of a losing night for Tennessee was the starting pitching from Landon Mack.
Mack made his second start of the season for Tennessee after transferring in from Rutgers. In 6 2/3 innings of work, he had 11 strikeouts and allowed just one earned run.
Elander talked about what he saw from his Saturday starter against Kent State.
“He had elite stuff,” Elander said, regarding Mack. “He was the best part of the night, along with [Brandon] Arvidson. It gives us a lot of confidence to stack those two guys up for next week.”
Mack has 20 strikeouts through 12 2/3 innings of work so far this season.
Breaking down Brandon Arvidson’s relief appearance and season debut
Brandon Arvidson came out of the bullpen and replaced Mack. He pitched through the remainder of the game and had five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of work.
Arvidson also allowed just two hits and did not allow any runs or walks.
Elander talked about his big relief appearance in what was his season debut for the Volunteers.
“He showed some really good stuff,” Elander said, regarding Arvidson. “There is probably a different world where he starts on the weekend if he is healthy out of the gate. He is a mature guy who has come a long way from last year to this year.”
The relief appearance in the loss against Kent State was Arvidson’s season debut. He talked about how happy he was to finally be out there and pitch again for Tennessee.
“It was fun to be back out there,” Arvidson said. “It has been hard to watch for the past week and a half. It was very good to be back.”
Up next for Tennessee
The Tennessee Volunteers will look to win the weekend series against Kent State on Sunday, February 22.
The game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville will begin at 1 p.m. EST.
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Alfred Ezman | WBN
