Everything Josh Elander said on a series finale 10-9 win over Kentucky

Tennessee led by as many as six runs but had to withstand two fierce Kentucky rallies that saw the Wildcats plate eight combined runs in the final three innings innings in Sunday’s 10–9 win on the road in Lexington.

The Vols (31-17, 11-13 SEC) salvaged the series with the win in the series finale over Kentucky (29-16, 11-13 SEC) with Levi Clark homering twice and driving in five runs on a three-hit day. His ninth inning home run handed the Vols some much needed insurance runs when the lead was cut to just one run at the time.

Reese Chapman tallied two hits, drove in two and scored three runs. He and Clark went back-to-back with the long balls in the second inning. Garrett Wright had three hits in the win. Blaine Brown and Henry Ford recorded two hits. Brown and Wright each drove in a run.

Landon Mack (W, 4-4) earned the win after tossing six innings of one-run baseball. Bo Rhudy picked up five outs in relief but allowed four runs. Brandon Arvidson (S, 2) earned the save by picking up the final two outs of the game. Connor Mattison (L, 2-2) is the losing pitcher in the game after allowing five runs in 3.1 innings of the start.

Tennessee’s Cam Appenzeller allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning out of the bullpen. Clark’s second home run of the game was a three-run shot in the top of the ninth that handed the Vols some much needed breathing room at 10-6 after the lead was down to only one run.   

Kentucky’s Braxton Van Cleave’s three-run home run brought the score to a one-run difference with one out in the ninth inning before Arvidson was called on to finish the job.

Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander spoke briefly following the series finale in Lexington with Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. Here’s video and a written transcript from the postgame press conference.  

Up Next: Tennessee returns home to kickoff the final homestand of the regular season. Presbyterian comes to Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. ET start ahead of the Texas series next weekend.  

On his general reaction to the game…

“Just a wild game all the way around, but great job by our offense. Bunch of punches being thrown back and forth. You don’t really draw it up where you give up eight runs in the last three innings and still find a way to get out. But, a Sunday win, we’ll take it any way we can get it, salvage the weekend, and I liked how our offense competed. 

“They hit some balls out of the ballpark. We need to be better out of the bullpen, but a great win for our guys to end the weekend.”

On Landon Mack’s outing…

“He was phenomenal. He did everything we asked him to, made a few adjustments to make sure that his glove was covered up and (he) attacked the strike zone. Worked around some traffic in the first, but just throwing strikes. Had all the pitches going today, threw some good curveballs, cutter was good, fastball had life – some with run, some with ride – that’s what we expect. He’s a difference maker when he’s locked in, and he needs to take a lot of confidence from that going down the stretch because we’re going to need him. He was really good today.”

On Levi Clark’s ninth inning homer, Clark’s and Chapman’s performances…

“It’s massive. That’s what you expect. Those guys are franchise players for us, and they need to be in the middle of the lineup. That’s where it started in recruiting. It’s good to see them start to put some good swings together. Phenomenal job today by our offense, moving runners, sac flies, Trent (Grindlinger) with two great bunts, just working together to win. And they gave us the breathing room that we needed. Again, we need to be better on the mound, but phenomenal job by our offense to extend the lead and continue to stay on the gas pedal. We’ve seen on Sunday in this league, it’s crazy. It’s a ton of back and forth. There’s a lot of high-scoring games. But great job by our offense to continue to give us breathing room. And Reese and Levi and Trent, a lot of guys took some really good swings today.”

On the message to the team ahead of today’s game to come away with a win and salvage the series…

“We talk about Sunday being important all the time, but you got to stay in it this time of year and control the noise. And only thing you can worry about is the game right in front of you. We made it clear that those two efforts back-to-back – we can’t do that. That’s not up to the standards of how we play. Able to compete and stay in the fight today. There could have been times where they punch back and all of a sudden you lay down, but phenomenal job by our guys to stay in it throughout the course of entire Sunday. Now, we get to head on back to Lindsey Nelson Stadium for a 5-game stretch and excited to see Vol Nation back there. This is a big win and a good feather in our cap for another Sunday win.”

On if he’s hoping the offensive momentum can be carried into next week and the series with Texas…

“Yeah, it was a good reset. Not good at all the first two days offensively. Faced two completely different looks up here with (Ben) Cleaver (who) is an 85-mile-an-hour lefty, and then (Jaxon) Jelkin, probably a future big leaguer. Today, (we) faced a ton of different arms. Guys just need to settle in. But this time of year in May, playing at home at Lindsey Nelson— our guys need to enjoy it. It’s a gift every time they get to do that. We got five games rocking and rolling, so we’ll get on our home turf. They’ll get to sleep in their own beds for a little bit, but I know we’re excited to get through these next five at home.”