Tennessee baseball’s Tegan Kuhns strikes out 15 in ‘incredible’ start
Tegan Kuhns was electric for Tennessee baseball in its series opener against Texas, leading the Vols to victory with 15 strikeouts.
The crowd was already on its feet to give him a standing ovation, but it wasn’t time yet for Tegan Kuhns’ curtain call . Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander walked to the mound to talk with his sophomore right-hander, who had already provided a gem of a start. With 109 pitches already under his belt, Kuhns figured his night was done.
Elander had different ideas. “They must be cheering for me, because you’re staying in this game,” Elander told Kuhns. Back to work.
A long foul ball provided strike one, and an off-speed pitch on the outside edge gave strike two. The fans rose again, and Kuhns sent them into a frenzy by inducing a swing and miss to end the seventh inning. He pointed to the turf at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and declared: “This is my house!
” It was the 113 th and final pitch of a masterful performance, putting an exclamation point on the most dominant start of Kuhns’ career in a 5-1 win over No. 4 Texas on May 8. A career-high 15 strikeouts highlighted seven shutout innings, which included just four Texas hits and one walk .