If Landon Mack learned anything about Tennessee baseball in its opening-weekend sweep of Nicholls State, it’s that he’s surrounded by a group of guys that just want to have fun on the diamond.
That camaraderie reigned prevalent for a squad that outscored the Colonels 27-3 across 24 innings — courtesy of a pair of run-rules.
“A lot of guys that want to compete, a lot of guys that want to win,” Mack said. “And it’s a party out there.”
The Vols’ domination began on the mound. Tennessee’s weekend trio consists of guys who have all taken the ball in prominent starting roles before. Transfers Mack and Evan Blanco were each Friday night pitchers at their previous schools.
When Josh Elander delivered the phone call, Tegan Kuhns was on the receiving end to earn the Opening Day nod.
Tennessee’s rotation combined to give 17.2 innings of one-run baseball. It allowed 11 total hits, while fanning 26 batters to just four walks. Kuhns (8) and Mack (9) both set new personal benchmarks for strikeouts in a game.
And they’re the set of guys who have sharpened the most iron during the offseason.
“It’s just been a competition between me and him,” Kuhns said Friday. “… Since he got here, he’s just been pushing me. He’s awesome.”
“We consistently pushing each other and working hard,” Mack added Saturday. “And I’m glad to have him pushing me and to be able to push him back and push our boundaries.”
Kuhns’ opener set the tone for the weekend. He delivered a career-best outing in innings pitched (6.2), strikeouts (8) and pitches (86). The Colonels knocked a meager two hits off the breakout sophomore, and he surrendered a single free bag.
Nicholls State managed one runner into scoring position while Kuhns toed the rubber, and he delivered an inning-ending strikeout to prevent any scares. The debut served as a culmination of the offseason he produced — beginning with a dominant 13.1 innings of action in the Cape Cod League that has boosted him into the season. He’s developed a four-pitch mix, featuring a new-look changeup that generates heavy swing-and-miss potential.
It was all the more special to get the win for his first-year head coach in the opener.
“It was absolutely amazing,” Kuhns said. “It was everything I expected to do, and I just want to win for that guy, man. He loves his players.”
As the weather took course on Sunday, the Saturday slate had to be doubled up. Mack took the ball in the first game and followed up Kuhns’ performance with an ace-like nod of his own.
Mack surrendered the first run of the season on a solo blast to the porches in left, but otherwise gave Tennessee six innings of four-hit baseball. He struck out a career-best nine batters and put his command on display with one walk.
His fastball sat high 90s, while his cutter-slider hybrid paired with a falling curveball provided deception. Even though Mack walked just 17 batters in 80.1 innings at Rutgers a season ago, he’s seen the most improvement in his ability to dial in on the zone since arriving at Tennessee.
“Commanding the zone and feeling comfort with off-speed pitches,” Mack said. “Being able to mix it up and keep hitters off balance.”
Blanco, meanwhile, used to be the ace of a Virginia squad that made the 2024 College World Series. The lefty is beginning the year as third in the rotation, but his production in the backend of the doubleheader showed how valuable he can be for the staff.
Blanco gave up five hits over five innings. He did not surrender a run, striking out nine batters and walking two.
“Just poise and competitiveness from both of them,” Elander said of his Saturday duo.
The weekend starters garnered their share of attention. But the bullpen reserves held their own, too.
Brady Frederick is the only one of the five guys who entered in relief to surrender a run. Cam Appenzeller, Nic Abraham, Bo Rhudy and Brayden Krenzel dished out clean slates across their 5.1 innings of work.
Appenzeller is Tennessee’s prized freshman possession. The 6-foot-5 lanky lefty, who ranked No. 22 overall in the 2025 class, bypassed Major League offers to step foot on campus. His first appearance provided everything Elander could’ve desired for the touted arm who will spend three years in Knoxville before he’s draft-eligible again.
He tossed four strikeouts in two innings, keeping the bases clean without a walk or hit allowed. The next step is determining where he’ll be factored in as the season furthers.
“He’s a really good athlete,” Elander said. “It’s just easy. He really attacked the strike zone today, and there’s no doubt more velo coming. I don’t know when, but it’s not a big velo deal. It is important to an extent, but he can really get outs, and he’s shown the ability against our hitters to, when there’s a mess going on, he can say, ‘Okay, I’m, I’m putting an end to this right now.’ So, really excited about what he’s able to do and when he’s getting back out there right away.”
His role will continue to find its shape. Getting Appenzeller back on the mound right away could entail midweek starts — but that’s far from the end goal.
“I told him when I met with him, it’s like, ‘Hey, we brought you here to pitch on the weekend,’ right?” Elander said. “So again, I think there needs to be some sort of progression to that, and we’ve kind of overly communicated, even with how he’s going to lift throughout the week, and making sure early in the year to middle of the year, but we’re expecting his role to continue to evolve. Really confident about his ability to get outs really anywhere.”
In the end, though, there may not have been a bigger performance than the one inning that Krenzel gave over the weekend. He entered game two of the doubleheader after Blanco’s exit, and delivered a groundout, strikeout and flyout in six pitches.
It was a leap in the right direction for the sophomore who battled a tough end to his true freshman season.
“I think he needed it, Elander said. “I think we kind of were joking in the dugout, like, ‘There he is. We missed you.’ So, I met with Krenzel probably 10 days ago. I think sometimes guys with the competitive element of our rosters, they try to be something they’re not, instead of just stacking consecutive days and trying to be the best version of themselves. The best version of Brayden Krenzel is really, really good on the mound.”
As the season progresses, more roles will shape. For now, Elander and new pitching coach Josh Reynolds have a good problem on their hands.
