Why Tennessee baseball's first innings could be a problem in NCAA Tournament
Tennessee baseball has fallen behind in many recent games. After it happened against Arkansas, the Vols were eliminated from the SEC Tournament.
HOOVER, AL – Tennessee baseball has developed a dangerous habit of falling behind early. In the second round of the SEC Tournament , it led to the Vols getting sent home . Arkansas tagged Tennessee starting pitcher Evan Blanco for four first-inning runs and the 10 th -seeded Vols couldn’t recover, seeing their SEC Tournament stay end with an 8-4 loss to the No.
7 seed Razorbacks (37-19) on May 20 at the Hoover Met. Blanco (7-4, 5. 29 ERA), pitching on short rest after starting five days prior at Oklahoma, was relieved after allowing five runs in three innings.
“They were sitting on pitches and they landed on them,” Vols coach Josh Elander said. “And some of those were hit a long way,” referencing the three 420-plus-foot home runs Arkansas hit off Blanco. The rough first inning was a continuation of a concerning recent trend for the No.
25 Vols (38-20). In their final regular season series at Oklahoma, they faced a deficit of at least 3-0 every game. In their last nine games against SEC competition, they’ve only won the first inning twice and have been outscored in the opening frame by a combined 23-9.