What we learned from Tennessee baseball vs Oklahoma with SEC Tournament next

Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander will admit it. When Oklahoma went up six runs in the first inning, it would’ve been understandable for the Vols to roll over. Tennessee had already clinched the series by winning the first two games, with a 9-7 result in Game 1 on May 14 and a 9-4 victory in a Game 2 that started on May 15 and ended the following day because of lightning .

The Vols had accomplished what they set out to at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. But Tennessee started chipping away, and even as Oklahoma added to its total, the Vols drew closer. By the fifth inning it was a three-run game, and by the seventh they were within two.

They pushed the Sooners to the brink, bringing the tying run to the plate on multiple occasions. Although they ultimately couldn’t find that breakthrough moment in Game 3, which ended in a 12-9 loss on May 16, the Vols (37-19, 15-15 SEC) showed their fight all series against the Sooners (31-20, 14-16). “Guys just staying in the fight – that’s what I wanted to see,” Elander said on May 16.

“… At any point our guys need to have the confidence, regardless of what the score is, they have the ability to come back. ” In each of the first two games, Tennessee went down 3-0 within two innings. It scored four runs in the third inning both times to erase its deficits and kept the pressure on the remainder of the contest, capping the regular season with their second-most runs in an SEC series this season.