In the top of the ninth inning in the series finale against Tennessee baseball, Wright State catcher Zac Butler blasted a home run that sailed over the left field wall of Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Raiders chanted “Olé!” as Butler rounded the bases and was crowned by his teammates with their mascot’s head.
Wright State (5-8) threw a party in their dugout after shutting out Tennessee, 6-0, on March 8.
The No. 19 Vols (12-4) won the series and entered with a six-game winning streak, but new coach Josh Elander was not happy with their performance.
“Immaturity, across the board,” Elander said about the offense. “Guys taking huge swings when we’re down three. I think we hit 12 or 13 fly ball outs. The math is very simple on that: you’re out.
“For us to not make the adjustment collectively or to coach them better where they can make those adjustments throughout the game left a really bad taste in everybody’s mouth after otherwise a pretty good week for our group.”
The Vols needed a late rally to open the series with a 4-3 win, then held on for a 5-4 win before coming out flat in the final game.
Tennessee opens SEC play at Georgia on March 13 (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network+).
“We feel we have 10 or 11 guys that are capable of playing every day in this league,” Elander said. “At the same time, they’ve got to do it. We can talk about talent or potential, but it’s time to kind of close the gap and our guys need to get going. Our guys need to compete better on offense, and we didn’t do that today.
“This offense is more than capable, but to this point has not been anywhere close to the standards of this team or what the previous teams here have been.”
The Vols players maintained a more positive perspective.
“We can’t sulk over today,” said left fielder Garrett Wright. “We went 4-1 on the week. That’s a great week. You can’t sulk over one game, you’ve got to move on.”
Pitcher Evan Blanco (1-2) agreed with Wright. Blanco began the game strong with no hits through five innings, but surrendered three runs in the sixth. He finished with eight strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.
“I think that we need to stay to our routines,” Blanco said about how the offense can prepare for SEC play. “I know that eventually, this lineup is going to come around, and all we need is a couple rallies. … I’ve faced this lineup the whole fall. They’ve given me trouble, they’ve given other pitchers trouble. I know what they’re capable of and it’ll eventually come around.”
Manny Marin responds to Elander’s challenge
Sophomore shortstop Manny Marin continued to cement his role in Tennessee baseball’s lineup. After hitting the walk-off home run in Game 2, he had three more hits, including a double, in the series finale.
Marin also had a defensive highlight. In the second inning, he made a spinning throw to first base to get the Vols’ first out.
“I just thought he was competing,” Elander said about Marin. “It was good to see. In the eighth inning he hits that double. He showed a little bit of fire there for the first time. My challenge to him has been, whoever is playing shortstop or the middle, I want you to command the field, have some mojo, and makes sure you’re directing traffic.
“I thought he competed very well today, but at the same time, it’s just one day. We’re looking for guys to stack quality days and finish weeks. That’s the frustrating thing, is we did not finish this week.”
Tennessee hosts Tennessee Tech on March 10 at 6 p.m. ET (SEC Network+).
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 calls out Vols’ ‘immaturity’
