Tennessee played a nine-inning baseball game Friday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
That was different.
Liam Doyle dominated on the mound for the No. 2 Volunteers.
That was not.
Doyle recorded 14 of his 16 outs via strikeout as the transfer pitcher from Ole Miss led the Vols to a 5-1 downing of Samford before an announced crowd of 4,741. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander is 2-0 out of the gate with his new Southeastern Conference program, racking up 25 strikeouts in the process.
“I’ve definitely got a little tick up in velocity, but I’ve always had a good fastball,” Doyle, who had a 5.73 earned run average with the Rebels but racked up 84 strikeouts in 55 innings, said afterward in a news conference. “It’s always been my best pitch. What has made my fastball even more effective besides the velocity is that my off-speed pitches have gotten a lot better from last year, so hitters have to think about it.
“I’m throwing them all in the zone for strikes.”
The Vols improved to 5-0 and gave coach Tony Vitello his 300th victory in his 412th game, easily making him the fastest Tennessee baseball coach to that milestone. Rod Delmonico reached 300 wins in his 501st contest.
Junior pitcher and Kennesaw State transfer Tanner Franklin replaced Doyle and racked up six more strikeouts, giving Tennessee’s potential regular Friday tandem a combined 20 for the game.
“You’ve got two guys who really like to compete,” Vitello said, “and they’ve both improved greatly since they’ve been on campus. They’ve both got stuff that’s going to allow them to pitch as long as they want to pitch.”
Said junior catcher Cannon Peebles: “They’re elite, and they absolutely shove. They hammer the strike zone, which is good, and they let their pitches work. They make my job easy.”
Reese Chapman’s solo home run to center field in the second inning opened the scoring, and Peebles connected for a two-run homer to left in the third that made it 3-0. It was 37 degrees at Friday’s first pitch, with Vitello describing Tennessee’s first nine-inning game of the season as “weird.”
Marcus Phillips is scheduled to start Saturday afternoon’s game for the Vols, with his first pitch scheduled for 2.
Odds and ends
Tennessee has drawn 58 walks through five games and allowed nine. … Vitello just notched his 200th win on March 4, 2023. … The Bulldogs, who went 36-22 last season and 14-7 in the Southern Conference, are 2-3 this year.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.