After appearing to turn a corner, Tennessee baseballs offense returned to its same habits in its 7-4 loss to Ole Miss.
The Vols hit .143 (1-7) with runners in scoring position and finished the game with eight straight outs, once again struggling in important situations. Against good pitching on a Friday night, converting on limited opportunities is even more important.
"That's a guy that knows how to pitch in this league," Tennessee head coach Josh Elander said. "There's a reason he throws on Friday night for that club, and we had two chances to get him."
Taking advantage of scoring opportunities has been an issue for the Vols so far this conference season, especially in its recent series loss to LSU. Tennessee hit just .077 (2-26) with runners in scoring position across the series as it dropped the series.
In the sweep at Mississippi State, the Vols hit .357 (5-14) in these key situations and scored nine of 19 runs with two outs, suggesting the Vols turned a corner in this area. Instead, the Vols faltered in the important moments.
It started in the first inning when a hit batter put two on with two out, but Blaine Brown struck out to end chances of adding to Reese Chapman's homer. Third-inning miscues from Ole Miss loaded the bases with two out in the third inning, bringing designated hitter Trent Grindlinger to the plate. The freshman hitter struggled all night, striking out to leave the bases juiced.
The fifth inning brought another opportunity to score more than one run from an Henry Ford single. Blake Grimmer came up in a big spot with two on and ended the frame with a double play.
"These guys know on Friday night you usually have one chance to get that guy," Elander said. "If you don't get to him, you're going to be in trouble playing from behind the whole time."
After the Vols scored two through a Jay Abernathy home run, Tennessee moved another runner into scoring position with two outs. Instead of cutting further into the now-three-run deficit while in the heart of the order, Ford and Grimmer both struck out swinging to keep the Rebels on top.
A clean inning from Chandler Day gave the Tennessee bats another chance in the eighth still down a trio. The Vols failed to rise to the occasion, going down in order and postponing comeback hopes to the final frame.
Will Haas earned the offense a three-run chase in the ninth inning with his scoreless frame in the away half. Three straight groundouts sealed the addition to the loss column, setting the Vols back to 7-9 in conference play.
Playing from behind in the series, Abernathy thinks the Vols are close to finding their way back. The center fielder believes continued dedication
"You just keep going as a team," Abernathy said. "There's not much."
With conference play more than halfway finished following Friday's loss, the Vols do not have that many chances remaining to figure out how to hit good pitching. The rest of the weekend will prove if Tennessee's performance in Starkville is the new normal or if struggles will continue through the remainder of the regular season.