Why Tennessee baseball's Cam Appenzeller reminds Josh Elander of Chase Burns
· Yahoo Sports
Josh Elander has never seen freshman pitcher Cam Appenzeller's heart rate spike.
Before becoming the coach of Tennessee baseball, Elander helped recruit the 6-foot-5 prospect from Chatham, Illinois. Appenzeller's low-key attitude stuck with Elander, and it showed when he turned to the freshman first out of the bullpen against LSU on April 4.
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Appenzeller (4-0) maintained Tennessee's lead and helped the Vols (20-11, 4-7 SEC) secure the 4-1 victory over LSU (21-11, 5-6) in the second game of the series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
He finished with six strikeouts and allowed just one hit through five innings.
"On the recruiting trail, it was kind of funny because he was always so laid back when we would meet with him on the road," Elander said after the win. "He would just kind of be chilling. It's his personality. The moment never gets too big."
He didn't show it, but Appenzeller had a mountain of pressure on his shoulders when he came in to relieve starter Tegan Kuhns in the fifth inning. Tennessee had lost its past four consecutive SEC games, including the first game of the series, where it led 4-1 before the bullpen gave up a grand slam in the 7-5 loss.
The freshman allowed a single and had runners on second and third base. With two outs, LSU's top hitter Derek Curiel stepped up to the plate.
Appenzeller earned his first strikeout of the day and let out a roar toward the Tennessee dugout.
"Very difficult deal of two future big leaguers going at it," Elander said about Appenzeller and Curiel.
Appenzeller strolled into the news conference with the same poise and cool attitude that got him, and Tennessee, through the game.
"Definitely a big at-bat for the energy of the game," he said about facing Curiel. "It kind of swung the energy back our way instead of sending it to them."
Appenzeller has a 1.15 ERA this season, with 35 strikeouts to 17 hits and just four earned runs. Although the freshman hasn't demanded a starting role, Elander suspects he'll be in the rotation more often.
"We'll talk with the staff, but right now it's where he's put us in a position to win games," Elander said. "There's 100% a chance he could be in there at any point. I think that's the unique thing about (Appenzeller).
"Before his time is done here, he will pitch a lot more as a starter than he does out of the bullpen. There's no doubt about that."
Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: [email protected]
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Cam Appenzeller pulled Tennessee baseball out of SEC funk with win over LSU