By Stephen Mason
No. 14 Tennessee completed the opening weekend in comfort on Saturday, winning both games of a Valentine’s Day doubleheader. Tennessee took the afternoon game 5-1 and dominated the evening game 12-2 in seven innings. The weekend was a perfect start to the 2026 campaign and the Josh Elander era in the newly renovated Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The new faces on the roster played a massive role in the victories, starting with the performances on the mound by two transfers. In the afternoon game, sophomore Landon Mack, a Rutgers transfer, made the start for the Vols. In six innings, he recorded nine strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk. Mack has noticed improvements in his game since coming to Rocky Top.
“Command of the zone and feeling comfortable with offspeed pitches, being able to mix it up, and keeping players off-balanced,” Mack said.
Mack was replaced by true freshman Cam Appenzeller, who looked stellar in two innings of work, shutting out the Colonels while recording four strikeouts. Bo Rhudy finished the game, putting down Nicholls 1-2-3 in the ninth inning in his first appearance for Tennessee.
The pitching remained stout in the evening game with senior Evan Blanco making the start. In his first game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, the transfer from Virginia went five innings, giving up five hits and striking out nine. Brayden Krenzel and Brady Fredrick both appeared in relief; while Fredrick gave up two runs, it was not enough for the Colonels to overcome a dominant Tennessee offense.
One does not have to go deep into the lineup to find the engine that powered the Vols.
He may be new to the program, but fans should get familiar with the name: Blaine Brown.
In the afternoon game, the Rice transfer went 3-for-5 at the plate with two home runs and four RBIs. Although he is new to the team, Brown has wasted little time getting comfortable in his new home ballpark.
“He’s a tough at-bat for sure. You’ve got to throw the kitchen sink at him,” Mack said. “He’s just an elite batter.”
Brown kept it rolling in the evening game, hitting his third home run of the day in his first at-bat and going 3-for-4. Brown was not alone, as returning sophomore catcher Levi Clark followed Brown’s home run in the second game with one of his own.
“I think the whole lineup is dangerous,” Brown said. “Starting with me, Levi, and (Henry) Ford, but you can’t slack off on the rest of the six in the lineup. Anyone can do damage at any point in the game.”
Vols leadoff man and Virginia transfer Henry Ford put together two solid performances; however, there were surprise showings from deeper in the lineup. In game one, true freshman Trent Grindlinger had a pair of hits, including a double. When San Diego State transfer Finley Bates pinch-hit, he sent the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark.
With so many players performing at a high level, head coach Josh Elander must now navigate the challenge of finalizing his starting lineup.
“They’re making it tough on me, which is good. We talked about Arkansas last year… that we were going to make it as hard as possible to get onto the field,” Elander said. “I think we did that this last summer, and we got some guys that are banged up right now who are fully capable of being SEC players.”
If there is one area the team needs to clean up, it is baserunning. In the afternoon game, three Tennessee runners were picked off, including two at second base. Elander, who remains the third base coach, took ownership of the issue.
“Better coaching from the third base coach box is what we need… but it can’t happen. At the end of the day, it’s on me,” Elander said. “We’ve got some young guys out there getting their feet wet.”
The team played much cleaner in the evening with no major missteps on the basepaths. While the Vols were able to overcome such mistakes against Nicholls, the top-ranked teams they will face in a few weeks will be much less forgiving.
The Vols will take Sunday off before returning to prepare for Tuesday’s game against UNC Asheville at 4 p.m. at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.