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CHAPEL HILL, NC – Tennessee baseball’s dugout was largely motionless. Some players dropped their heads. Others watched VCU spill out of the dugout to celebrate.
It had been a while since Tennessee found itself in this position, eliminated from an NCAA Tournament regional. None of these players had experienced it in a Vols uniform.
But that was the reality for No. 25 Tennessee after its 5-4 loss to fourth-seeded VCU (38-24) at Boshamer Stadium on May 30, which sent the No. 2 seeded Vols (38-22) home at the earliest possible junction after going 0-2 in the Chapel Hill Regional. It was the first time in program history Tennessee went winless in a regional.
The loss snapped Tennessee’s streak of five straight super regional appearances and six straight full seasons with at least 40 wins. The last time Tennessee was eliminated prior to a super regional came in 2019 in the same ballpark, when the Vols lost to North Carolina in the final of that year’s Chapel Hill Regional.
It was also the final game of Josh Elander’s first season as head coach, which featured a seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance but couldn’t match the highs of the prior five years, which amounted to the best stretch in program history with three College World Series appearances and a national championship in 2024. Even after this season of ups and downs, the Vols still have the most wins of any Division I program since 2020.
“We’ve been very fortunate to win a lot of regionals in a row. That’s now come to an end,” Elander said. “I think we need to look at everything holistically and just try to get better. That needs to be a theme.”
Tennessee had hoped to get around 90 pitches from starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns (5-5) against the Rams, but he could only muster 70. The sophomore and potential first-round 2026 MLB Draft pick had been battling an illness for a few days, and it took a toll as his outing went on, with his velocity starting to dip in the third inning.
Midway through the fourth, Kuhns needed a mound visit to reset and rehydrate. He finished the inning, but that was as far as he could go.
“With Tegan, it was a curveball,” Elander said. “We were going to see what we kind of got, and then all of the sudden it was in his best interest physically (to leave the game).”
Brady Frederick allowed two runs out of the bullpen in 0.2 innings, which proved to be the difference. Mark Hindy and Cam Appenzeller combined for 3.1 scoreless innings.
They kept the Vols in the game, but it was again Tennessee’s offense that missed its chances to pounce, a continuation of its struggles with runners in scoring position throughout the regional. The Vols went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against VCU one day after going 1-for-10 against East Carolina.
After Garrett Wright hit a leadoff double in the seventh, the next three batters went strikeout, pop up, pop up. Reese Chapman represented the tying run at third with two outs in the eighth, but Jay Abernathy grounded out.
The tying run was stranded on first base when the game ended.
“It’s been a crazy year for us,” Elander said. “Love how they stayed in it … But I think the game has told us we need to make some adjustments.”
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Inside Tennessee baseball's season-ending numbing loss in NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
It had been a while since Tennessee found itself in this position, eliminated from an NCAA Tournament regional. None of these players had experienced it in a Vols uniform.
But that was the reality for No. 25 Tennessee after its 5-4 loss to fourth-seeded VCU (38-24) at Boshamer Stadium on May 30, which sent the No. 2 seeded Vols (38-22) home at the earliest possible junction after going 0-2 in the Chapel Hill Regional. It was the first time in program history Tennessee went winless in a regional.
The loss snapped Tennessee’s streak of five straight super regional appearances and six straight full seasons with at least 40 wins. The last time Tennessee was eliminated prior to a super regional came in 2019 in the same ballpark, when the Vols lost to North Carolina in the final of that year’s Chapel Hill Regional.
It was also the final game of Josh Elander’s first season as head coach, which featured a seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance but couldn’t match the highs of the prior five years, which amounted to the best stretch in program history with three College World Series appearances and a national championship in 2024. Even after this season of ups and downs, the Vols still have the most wins of any Division I program since 2020.
“We’ve been very fortunate to win a lot of regionals in a row. That’s now come to an end,” Elander said. “I think we need to look at everything holistically and just try to get better. That needs to be a theme.”
Tennessee had hoped to get around 90 pitches from starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns (5-5) against the Rams, but he could only muster 70. The sophomore and potential first-round 2026 MLB Draft pick had been battling an illness for a few days, and it took a toll as his outing went on, with his velocity starting to dip in the third inning.
Midway through the fourth, Kuhns needed a mound visit to reset and rehydrate. He finished the inning, but that was as far as he could go.
“With Tegan, it was a curveball,” Elander said. “We were going to see what we kind of got, and then all of the sudden it was in his best interest physically (to leave the game).”
Brady Frederick allowed two runs out of the bullpen in 0.2 innings, which proved to be the difference. Mark Hindy and Cam Appenzeller combined for 3.1 scoreless innings.
They kept the Vols in the game, but it was again Tennessee’s offense that missed its chances to pounce, a continuation of its struggles with runners in scoring position throughout the regional. The Vols went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against VCU one day after going 1-for-10 against East Carolina.
After Garrett Wright hit a leadoff double in the seventh, the next three batters went strikeout, pop up, pop up. Reese Chapman represented the tying run at third with two outs in the eighth, but Jay Abernathy grounded out.
The tying run was stranded on first base when the game ended.
“It’s been a crazy year for us,” Elander said. “Love how they stayed in it … But I think the game has told us we need to make some adjustments.”
Emmett Siegel covers Tennessee baseball for Knox News. Email: [email protected]; X: @EmmettSiegel_
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Inside Tennessee baseball's season-ending numbing loss in NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
