Tennessee rolled to an 11–1 win over Belmont on Tuesday night, moving to 14–0 in midweek nonconference games for the first time in this century. Now, the focus quickly shifts to a talented Oklahoma team this weekend, with both teams currently tied in the SEC standings heading into the series.
Given that the weekend series starts on Thursday, there were some concerns about short rest, but Josh Elander mostly put those worries to rest.
After the game, Josh Elander gave an update on Sunday starter Landon Mack, who has been dealing with some arm soreness. He said:
“I mean, he’s been moving around, which is a good sign. He’s been playing catch, and him and I just talked, basically, ‘hey,’ in the dugout pregame, briefly after I got done throwing BP. So it’ll be a day-to-day deal, no major updates. But again, like I said, we’re never going to put him in a position unless he’s 100% convicted and ready to go. But that’s more of it’ll be a day-to-day thing from here on out.”
Obviously, this isn’t the best update, but it’s not the worst either. He is day to day, which is nice, but it sounds less and less likely that he will be available for the season finale against Oklahoma. In his last outing, Mack threw six strong innings against Kentucky, giving up just one run while striking out six and earning the win. He was supposed to start Sunday against Texas as the Vols tried to complete the sweep, but he was ultimately scratched before the game.
The good news is that starters Tegan Kuhns and Evan Blanco will be locked in for games one and two for Tennessee.
"I know Tegan, talking to him yesterday, he said he feels as good as he ever has, which is a really good sign of how well he threw the ball," said Elander. "But I think what that is, is the compound effect of him having weeks and weeks of making good decisions and recovering, and his nutrition. We talk about you want to be good at the end, that’s when those habits start to show up right now, as the weather gets warmer. And then Blanco is as mature as a person that we’ve ever had as a player. So yeah, no concerns with those two. Those two are feeling good, but we’ll dive into OU stuff tonight, since we’re done a little bit early, but it’ll be some combination of those two at the beginning.”
Landon Mack day to day, Kuhns and Blanco good to go vs OU
Hopefully Mack is ready to go on Saturday for the final game of the series, but you can also see where Elander is coming from. There’s really no need to rush him back or risk his arm if he isn’t fully ready, especially with the NCAA Tournament just around the corner.
On the bright side, ace Tegan Kuhns will be ready to go, and he’s been rolling lately. His recent strong outings have even landed him in first-round MLB mock drafts, and he’ll be looking to build on his 15-strikeout performance last Friday. Lefty Evan Blanco has been reliable as well. While he's not as dominant as Kuhns, he has been going deep into games and eating up innings to avoid going into the bullpen.
There is a lot to like about Tennesse this year, as they are heating up at the right time. Now they need to cap off the season with a series win and get ready to make a push for Omaha.
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