By Jack Glennon
Head coach Josh Elander’s tactical decision making becomes increasingly concerning each time the Tennessee Volunteers take the field.
It was on full display again on Saturday afternoon, as the Volunteers dropped a second consecutive game to the No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels, by a final score of 8-1.
The loss is Tennessee’s fourth in their past five home games against SEC opponents, and puts the Volunteers at 25-14 (7-10 SEC).
Ole Miss (29-11, 10-7) will seek the series sweep tomorrow.
A first-year head coach making the occasional head-scratching decision is understandable. Taking the ball away from Tegan Kuhns 5.2 innings into a 10-strikeout shutout performance, however, is not.
“I had confidence in everything I had today,” Kuhns said. “[I know] what I am capable of.”
Though Kuhns was phenomenal, classifying the performance of Tennessee’s bullpen as a collapse would be far too generous.
In relief of Kuhns, freshman left-hander Cam Appenzeller was tattooed for six earned runs across 2.1 innings pitched.
“I will pick [Appenzeller] up,” Kuhns said. “It is the SEC, it [happens].”
The rest of Tennessee’s bullpen would allow another two runs before the game was over.
Unfortunately, this is not the first occurrence of Tennessee’s bullpen imploding late in a close game. 13 days ago, the Volunteers’ staff yielded 10 runs in a 12th inning explosion for the visiting Louisiana State Tigers.
Time and time again, teams have paid a steep price for pulling their starters midway through a dominant performance.
In the 2002 MLB World Series, San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker relieved Russ Ortiz in the 7th inning of a 5-0 shutout, ultimately costing the franchise the game and a championship.
In game seven of the 2019 World Series, Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch made a similar blunder, pulling starting pitcher Zack Greinke just 80 pitches into a stellar performance.
Greinke departed in the 7th inning, with the Astros leading 2-1. The bullpen imploded, and the Astros lost 6-2.
If Elander wants any chance at following the path left behind by legendary former head coach Tony Vitello, it is imperative that he instills more trust in his pitching staff.
As coaches of the sport shift towards an analytical approach to bullpen management, I believe that there are a handful of things analytics simply cannot account for.
For starters, there is no reliable way to statistically measure momentum or adrenaline, both of which play a larger role in a pitcher’s performance than statisticians care to admit.
Swapping both pitchers and position players out of the lineup based solely on analytical data also stunts an athlete’s development, as getting into a rhythm is incredibly difficult for an athlete who is only playing every second or third game.
Blaming the loss entirely on Elander and the pitching staff would be ignorant, however, as the Volunteer lineup managing just two hits proved equally problematic.
“We’re not getting the results that we want [on offense],” Elander said. “[We’re] going to have to make some adjustments. Chasing pitches [is not] a good strategy.”
Elander’s assessment is unfortunately no slight overreaction. In the past two games against the Rebels, the Volunteers have struck out 19 times, while walking just five.
Further, the Volunteers have grounded into 26 double plays this season, the second-worst mark in the SEC.
And, while many fans would say that Tennessee’s season is far from over, I firmly believe that the series loss to Ole Miss puts any sort of postseason success out of reach.
The team’s 2024 College World Series victory now feels like an ever so distant memory, and, unless serious changes are made, Tennessee is well on their way to an exit within the regional portion of postseason play.
No matter what Tennessee has done on the road, including sweeping No. 17 Mississippi State last weekend, their inability to win inside the friendly confines of Lindsey Nelson Stadium proves that they are woefully unprepared for the postseason.
I say this because although baseball is a complex, ever-changing game, one thing is always a given: great teams win at home.
The Volunteers, now 3-5 at home in conference play, are a far cry from a dominant home team.
Barring a turnaround of epic proportions, fans of Tennessee baseball would be foolish to expect excitement this summer.