The Tennessee Vols fought tooth and nail, but it wasn’t quite enough to avoid a season-ending loss on Saturday. Tennessee fell 5-4 to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill.

Tennessee had their ace on the mound trying to stave off elimination. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the best version of Tegan Kuhns.

And that’s through no fault of Kuhns himself. Josh Elander explained after the game that Kuhns has been sick for a few days and was dealing with what sounds like a stomach issue on Saturday during the game.

Tegan Kuhns was sick on Saturday and was dealing with it during the game

“Yeah, Tegan, he’s a warrior,” Elander said. “He’s a winner. He’s going to pitch in the big leagues for a long time. Whoever’s lucky enough to get him with their first pick is going to be very lucky. It’s a guy who’s been sick the last two or three days. He’s running back and forth — you guys can guess where in between innings — trying to put himself in a good spot, hydrating. Gave us everything he had.

“Just proud of how he competed today, because he gave us everything, but physically, arm health, he’s in a great spot. He’s going to pitch for a long time.”

You don’t have to read between lines to figure out what was going on with Kuhns based on Elander’s comments. And to his credit, Kuhns battled enough to keep the Vols in the game. He allowed three earned runs over four innings on just four hits while striking out six.

Unfortunately, Tennessee’s offense struggled mightily for the second straight day with runners in scoring position. For the weekend, the Vols went 1-17 with runners in scoring position and struck out a total of 31 times. Look no further than there for why the Vols lost.

And if it’s the last time we see Kuhns — whose MLB draft prospects are certainly high —in a Tennessee uniform, he certainly went out like a warrior.