Tennessee starting pitcher Evan Blanco gave up three first-inning runs against both Texas and Oklahoma at the end of the regular season, but he would regroup and help lead the Volunteers to wins in both of those contests.
Blanco yielded four first-inning runs to Arkansas on Wednesday evening, and the Vols couldn’t overcome them.
Tennessee’s stay at the Southeastern Conference baseball tournament ended in the second round, as the 10th-seeded Vols were bounced by the seventh-seeded Razorbacks, 8-4, in Hoover, Alabama. The Vols did briefly pull within 5-3, but TJ Pompey’s three-run home run to left-center field in the fifth inning put Arkansas comfortably back in front.
“That was not the result we were looking for today, but congrats to Arkansas,” Vols first-year coach Josh Elander said afterward in a press conference. “They really landed on some balls today. Those were hit a long way.
“I thought our guys did a good job of staying in the fight, and we’ll go home and get ready for our next test.”