KNOXVILLE - Many college baseball coaches would shudder at the idea of their weekend rotation remaining unsettled into the month of May, when the stakes are seemingly higher with every pitch.
At Tennessee, a little bit of chaos in the hierarchy is working out well as the Volunteers continue striving for a berth in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Vols (27-23, 10-14) welcome Vanderbilt (25-23, 11-13) to Lindsey Nelson Stadium tonight to begin their final home series of the season with three pitchers once viewed as mainstays in the starting rotation who have succeeded since moving to the bullpen.
"I think it's grown into a group that the sum is greater than the parts," first-year Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said of his pitching staff.
Since Vitello and pitching coach Frank Anderson removed promising freshman left-hander Garrett Crochet from the Friday night pitching slot on April 20, Tennessee is 5-4 against three nationally ranked SEC opponents.
And since returning to the bullpen after making six starts, Crochet is 3-0 with a save in four relief appearances. During that stretch, Zach Linginfelter and Garrett Stallings - formerly key starters - have also succeeded in relief as Will Heflin and Sean Hunley have been given weekend starting opportunities.
Stallings, whose effectiveness had diminished in his last three starts, induced two double plays and retired the top three hitters in the Kentucky lineup to earn a five-out save in the Vols' 5-3 series-clinching win over the Wildcats this past Sunday. After making 11 starts this season, it was Stallings' first relief outing in more than a year.
"We don't have as secure of roles as some teams do," Stallings said. "I think, moving forward, when our names are called, we just want to go out there and help the team win. I think the more we do it, the more comfortable we're getting with it."
Crochet and Stallings have seen the starter-to-reliever path modeled by Linginfelter, a sophomore who began the season as the Vols' Friday night starter before being sent to the bullpen after struggling with his control.
In his past four outings, spanning 12 1/3 innings, Linginfelter has struck out 19 hitters and walked five while allowing two runs. His streak of success has coincided with Tennessee's 5-4 spurt against SEC foes, during which Crochet and Stallings were moved to the bullpen.
"I'm throwing my fastball and slider for a strike and just stopped trying to strike everyone out and let the defense work behind me," Linginfelter said after pitching 5 2/3 innings in relief to earn a win against Kentucky last Friday.
Junior right-hander Will Neely has been the only mainstay in the weekend rotation, having locked down the Sunday starting role.
"I think we're blessed," Vitello said. "I think we're blessed with guys that are willing to accept a variety of roles and guys that are hungry for the ball, but also willing to accept maybe when they don't get it, but also when they get it in a situation that they're not used to."
The mix-and-match roles for Tennessee's's top pitchers has been emblematic in some ways of the team's identity. The youth-laden Vols, playing under a first-time head coach, have surpassed their SEC win total from a year ago by three games with six scheduled games remaining. They have also learned some lessons in the form of getting swept twice on the road in SEC play.
But they have managed to bounce back from each blow, and the same goes for the three former starting pitchers now embracing their bullpen roles.
"It's been interesting, and it's definitely been a part of our story," Vitello said. 'But it's been a good part of the story. I think it's helped some of these guys grow up quick, and it's kept us on our toes. I think with their attitude and the adjustments Coach Anderson has come up with, I think it's kind of starting to form into something that is successful for us."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.