An exasperated Josh Elander walked into the the postgame press conference following Tennessee baseball's 12-8 loss to No. 15 Alabama on April 24.
The brim of the first-year UT coach's orange baseball cap casted a shadow over his eyes as the Vols (27-15, 8-11 SEC) dropped the fifth of their last six series openers in the loss to the Tide (29-14, 10-9).
In their last SEC series against Ole Miss, the pitching mostly held up while the offense floundered. In Game 1 against Alabama at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, it was the offense that kept Tennessee in shouting distance while seven different pitchers combined to allow 10 walks, 10 hits, two balks, and hit six batters.
"It was really frustrating to watch," Elander said. "It was painful just to sit there ... We talk about it to our guys all the time, we want to compete over the plate. I'd rather see a guy hit four home runs in a row than watch what we did. I don't know if it's a lack of conviction, but there's no excuse. It was really poor all the way around on the mound."
Starting right hand pitcher Landon Mack (3-4) wobbled through 2 1/3 innings. He accounted for five earned runr, four walks, four hits, two hit batters and a balk to just two strikeouts.
Mack's final pitch slammed into Alabama hitter Luke Vaughn's helmet. He did not return to the game.
"I think he was sped up today," Elander said about Mack. "There was absolutely no doubt about it with the weird balk that happened. The command was not good today. Just a really weird deal. We're three quarters of the way through the league, you want some consistency there and that's something we talk about all the time. For whatever reason, he was not in a good spot out of the gates.
"On Friday night, you need length from your starter. You've got to be careful with the bullpen, especially with the weather that we're looking at coming in. When he hit that guy in the head − I hope that guy's OK − that was a clear indicator that we needed to get him out of the game."
Elander turned to freshman Cam Appenzeller for the next 3 1/3 innings. He didn't fare much better, allowing another four hits and four earned runs. The Vols shuffled through five more pitchers and ended the four-hour game with Sawyer Deering on the mound.
Tennessee will end its series against Alabama with a doubleheader on April 24 to avoid inclement weather on April 25. The Vols are slated to start right-hander Tegan Kuhns (2-3, 3.35 ERA) in Game 2 at 2:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network+), then left-hander Evan Blanco (4-2, 3.76 ERA) in Game 3 (6:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
Kuhns had a career performance in his last outing against Ole Miss on April 18. He threw a career-high 96 pitches and tied a personal best 10 strikeouts without any earned runs.
Elander has faith in his starting pitcher as the Vols hope to salvage a series win.
"I'm glad he's leading us into battle tomorrow," he said.
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander reacts to 10 walks, six hit batters