Tegan Kuhns almost cried.
Tennessee baseball coach Josh Elander called the collective trio of starters — Kuhns, Landon Mack and Evan Blanco — to deliver the news that the sophomore returnee would get the ball on Opening Day against Nicholls State.
He picked up the phone, and tears nearly came crashing down the 6-foot-3, 189-pound right-handed pitcher’s face as he earned the right to kick off the Elander era at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
“I was just chilling in my bed,” Kuhns said. “I picked up, he goes, ‘Dude, you ready to lead us in charge on Friday? I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”
That emotion translated to success. And Kuhns delivered an ace-like outing with three total baserunners across 6.2 innings pitched. He struck out eight batters and walked one, getting out of a dicey fifth inning where he tossed seven consecutive balls en route to the lone free bag surrendered.
Only one Colonel advanced into scoring position, and Kuhns dialed in for a strikeout to remove himself from that danger. Kuhns forced seven groundouts and five flyouts in 86 pitches.
“(It was) about as good as it gets,” Elander said.
Everywhere but his pitch count, at least.
“We had him built up to about 85 pitches, so I’m in trouble because we went to 86 tonight,” Elander said.
It is a significant stride for the short-leashed Sunday starter a season ago. Kuhns’ career-high pitch count rang 74 pitches in a loss to Auburn last year — the series where Liam Doyle exhausted his weekend availability with rain shenanigans, forcing his longest outing.
“It meant absolutely everything to me,” Kuhns said. “It was a pleasure by E that you could trust me in doing that. So it was awesome. It was everything I expected.”
Kuhns came out of the gates with a heater that was landing with velocity. Kuhns recorded back-to-back swinging punchouts to open the game, both 97-mph fastballs in 1-2 counts. Just one pitch in the frame ended with contact made, and it was the final delivery that resulted in a shallow popout to the shortstop.
Nicholls State made it eight outs before it could punch a ball through the field. Nine-hole hitter Karson Irvin singled past the diving glove of Henry Ford at third for the first baserunner from the Colonels. Kuhns responded with his third swinging strikeout to leave the runner stranded.
“He’s the same dude, and each day, everybody’s out there trying to get better,” outfielder Reese Chapman said. “So, I mean, he showed his stuff tonight, and I think he knows for a fact that there’s probably something that he wants to work on or get better at. So it’s just everybody, each day getting better and better.”
His stretch of improvement could come with the struggles he encountered in the fifth inning. Kuhns found the strike zone efficiently on Friday, but command issues arose with the eight and nine-hole batters facing batter-favorable counts. He walked the first and fell behind 3-0 to the second.
Kuhns pounded three straight strikes for the strikeout, getting out of the danger he put himself in. He retired the five batters he faced in order and ended the night on 2-2 looking strikeout.
It came on a night when he felt every pitch was working. A season ago, Kuhns only felt comfortable with two pitches. He’s now developed a four-pitch mix — fastball, curveball, slider and changeup.
The fastball and curveball landed for him as a true freshman. The changeup was in the arsenal, but he couldn’t find the strike zone with it. An offseason overhaul, fueled by a brief but dominant Cape Cod League appearance, has Kuhns’ repertoire operating like that of an SEC ace.
“I almost cried when I heard it, because that’s everything I’ve dreamed of,” Kuhns said of his start. “And I’m just using the Cape experience and what I did in the Cape to fuel me throughout the rest of the year.”
Now, he’ll get to take a seat for a week and watch the guy who helped him most this offseason.
“I’m gonna give a little shout-out to Landon Mack,” Kuhns said. “Right when he got here, me and him, it’s just been a competition between me and him. So I’m excited for him to go tomorrow. But since he got here, he’s just been pushing me. He’s awesome.”
With the weather in the Sunday forecast, Tennessee will have a Saturday doubleheader to conclude the series with Nicholls State.
