Game three of Tennessee baseball’s Orange & White World Series came down to the seventh inning on Sunday, ending in dramatic fashion.
Team Orange, guided by coach Kirby Connell, faced a one-run deficit heading into the final inning of play — when errors on Team White, led by coach Ethan Payne, opened the door for a comeback. A defensive miscue at second base by Ethan Moore plated the tying run, then some errant pitches by Brady Frederick brought the leading run in as Team Orange escaped with a 5-2 victory in a winner-take-all finale to cap the fall.
The competitive intrasquad scrimmage served as the bow to an offseason that head coach Josh Elander described as chaos.
“It was interesting,” Elander said. “It was a lot of fun, but it was good to see the guys.”
Tennessee’s offseason consisted of losing its national championship-winning head coach, going through a four-day coaching search and having two of its scheduled scrimmages open to the public canceled. That included Sunday’s finale, which was originally scheduled to be played at Covenant Health Park in downtown Knoxville, but was moved to the active construction site at Lindsey Nelson Stadium due to threatening weather.
Team Orange’s win came after splitting the first two games. Team White took the opener, 6-0, before Team Orange rallied for a 6-4 win in game two.
“For our team to be able to be split down the middle and still have that real SEC vibe over this last three days gives us a lot of confidence moving forward into the spring,” Elander said.
The Vols tallied a combined 12 hits in game three, struggling through some dominant pitching. Freshman slugger Hutson Chance mashed a homer in the first inning, but it was the lone extra-base hit of the afternoon.
Team Orange garnered nine hits, while Team White managed three. That was due in part to touted freshman pitcher Cameron Appenzeller, who dealt 3.2 innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. He retired the first eight batters of the game before allowing a single.
It’s an overhauled pitching staff after losing two first-round picks from the starting rotation. Tennessee attacked the portal, bringing in five pitchers from various schools.
“It’ll be a different look for sure,” Elander said. “Maybe not as much power as we’ve had in the past, but I think we’ll be (able to) kind of mix and match a little bit more than we have.”
Still, in the pitching corps, the Vols return sophomore Tegan Kuhns, who carved out a role as a weekend starter, and flamethrowing lefty Brandon Arvidson, who drew MLB Draft buzz with a strong finish last season.
Arvidson provided the toughest at-bat this fall, according to touted transfer Henry Ford. The two had a $100 bet going against each other to see who could win the battle. They faced off twice, with Ford mashing a homer and Arvidson recording a strikeout — leaving the bet even as the fall concludes.
Ford’s prowess at the plate then highlights a group of hitters that provides versatility. The Vols return notable starters Reese Chapman and Manny Marin, alongside other penciled names like Jay Abernathy, Chris Newstrom and Levi Clark. They also brought in hitters like Ford, along with Rice transfer Blaine Brown, Bowling Green transfer Garrett Wright and junior college transfer Tyler Myatt.
On the hitting side, returnee Blake Grimmer was labeled as the hardest out from fellow Virginia transfer Evan Blanco. Grimmer logged 44 at-bats last season, tallying a .318 batting average with a quartet of blasts.
“For me, that’s lefty on lefty, but he is a guy if he gets two strikes, he’s going to fight and claw his way back in the bat, and eventually put a ball in play,” Blanco said. “He’s a tough guy to swing and miss.”
The combination of hitters provides confidence for the road ahead.
“I think we have guys who can do everything, guys who hit it for power, and for average, you know, whatever it may be,” Ford said. “I think it’s going to be really fun. There’s a lot of depth.”
Even through the uncertainty that this offseason brought, having fall ball under the belt provides the first bit of stability — and a greater knowledge of what this season’s roster entails.
“I think it’s just a really gritty group, a really hard-working group,” Ford said. “I think it’s a really tight-knit group as well. Everybody loves each other and is there for you whenever you need help and the extra hitting, whatever. Like, give feedback, always have your back.”
Blanco sees the same perspective from the pitching staff. He credits it to be a deep unit that is fueled by unity.
“Everyone’s looking to push each other and get the best out of everyone,” Blanco said. “And I think that’s extremely rare in college baseball because there are young guys that don’t understand the team aspect, and, you know, we have, from top to bottom, young to old, we have guys that definitely do understand what it takes to win at this level.”
Now that Elander is off and running with the job that he earned on Oct. 25, he has received full backing as the offseason enters its next stage.
“The most important thing that I found out from this whole experience was how the team, I think like, came together and we got like an added spark of energy because of that situation,” Blanco said. “And once Elander was kind of named head coach, we definitely caught a second gear in this fall.”
Tennessee baseball begins its 2026 campaign on Feb. 13 against Nicholls State.
“This is still the SEC,” Elander said. “Like, once those lights come back on, when we get this stadium done and the electricity locked back in, it’s the SEC, so it’s time to compete. So making sure we have that, but also checking the boxes along the way to make sure we’re ready for the challenges ahead.”
