Teghan Kuhns came out “humming,” but the momentum didn’t last. The right-hander exited after just three innings in the Vols’ series-opening loss to Missouri.
Kuhns opened his outing in dominant fashion, striking out all three batters he faced in the first inning while allowing just a two-out single. But things began to unravel in the second.
After issuing a leadoff walk, Kuhns worked around trouble to keep Missouri off the board, though the cracks were beginning to show.
“It just wasn’t crisp,” head coach Josh Elander said. “I thought the pace was really the difference tonight. Even between pitches and getting to the plate, it just wasn’t there. That’s why we went to Frederick right away.”
The trouble caught up with Kuhns in the third inning. For the second straight frame, he allowed the leadoff hitter to reach, this time via a single. One out later, Missouri’s Jase Woita drove in the game’s first run with a double.
Moments later, Pierre Seals extended the lead with a two-run home run, putting Tennessee in an early 3-0 hole.
After a strong start to the season, allowing just one run and three hits across his first two outings, Kuhns has struggled to maintain that form. He has now surrendered three or more runs in each of his last four starts, with Friday marking his shortest appearance of the year.
“Just the command kind of faltered a little bit,” Elander said. “Just not the usual Tegan we’re used to seeing.”
Kuhns’ final line reflected the shift: three innings, three earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts, a contrast to his dominant first inning.
Tennessee’s offense couldn’t provide much support early on. Missouri starter Javyn Pimental held the Vols scoreless through the first three innings before Stone Lawless broke through with his fifth home run of the season.
The blast cut the deficit to 3-1 and briefly sparked hope for a comeback, but Tennessee struggled to build momentum. The next two batters were retired on just five pitches, halting any chance of a rally.
“As a group, we just talked about it; we should do a little better punching back in those situations,” Lawless said. “Like myself, I missed an opportunity with first and third. We’ve just got to be better in those moments.”
That theme persisted throughout the night. The Vols stranded 11 runners, including a critical missed opportunity in the ninth inning.
Trailing by four with two outs and the bases loaded, Tennessee had a chance to tie the game. Instead, Manny Marin struck out to end it. Most of the Vols’ offense came too late, with runs not arriving until the sixth inning or later while trailing 5-1. The bullpen didn’t fare much better. Brady Frederick and Brandon Arvidson followed Kuhns but combined to allow five additional earned runs, putting the game further out of reach.
The loss flips the script from Tennessee’s previous SEC series against Georgia, where the Vols won the opener on the road. This time, they dropped their conference home opener.
Still, Elander emphasized that the focus now shifts to the response.
“We’re going to find out what we’ve got,” he said. “This is a good test. We’re on our home turf, our crowd was amazing tonight, and we need to perform better for them.”
