How Tennessee baseball’s pitching staff carved Houston tournament: ‘A bunch of alpha males’

The Tennessee baseball pitcher missed Nate Snead waiting for him, but Vitello didn’t. The Vols coach halted Loy’s trot to the third-base dugout at Daikin Park and sent Loy scampering to Snead.

The pair embraced at the end of Tennessee’s 26th inning of pitching dominance in Houston.

“Best way to say it is you’ve just got a bunch of alpha males on your staff,” infielder Andrew Fischer said.

College baseball found out it has a problem in Houston.

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Tennessee’s pitching staff is a wrecking ball for opposing offenses again. It has an ace. It has a stockpile of hard-throwing options. It has versatile arms. It put it on display as the No. 1 Vols blitzed through Oklahoma State, Rice and Arizona in three games in the Astros Foundation College Classic.

Fourteen Vols pitchers combined to strike out 45 in 27 innings. They allowed six runs on 20 hits and 10 walks.

“I don’t think anyone did anything we weren’t expecting,” Vitello said of his top takeaway from the weekend.

That is telling and concerning for anyone on Tennessee’s schedule. The Vols knew they had this staff — and it looks more wicked than the staff they won the College World Series with under pitching coach Frank Anderson’s sage tutelage.

“We’ve got some dogs,” Snead said. “Everybody is going to go out there and do their job the way they’re supposed to do it.”

It starts with Liam Doyle, who established he is the ace in the fall. He struck out nine in 4⅓ innings in a 5-2 win against Oklahoma State on Friday. The Ole Miss transfer has 34 strikeouts in 14⅔ innings, which means 34 of the 44 outs he has recorded are on strikeouts.

Marcus Phillips was given the first crack at the Saturday starter role and has shown he is capable in it. He allowed one run on five hits and one walk in a 13-3 win against Rice on Saturday. He struck out eight for the second straight start and has 20 in 13⅓ innings.

Snead is the in the middle of the success because he can do anything on the mound. The junior remains a unique weapon — one that is so valuable that Vitello insisted Snead was deserving of team MVP votes last season. He got the save Friday then threw 3⅓ scoreless innings Sunday.

“You could ask him to take the ball in all three games this weekend and he will probably give you three or four innings every single time and it is going to be the same stuff,” Fischer said.

Tanner Franklin is a transfer portal revelation. Vitello called the Kennesaw State fireballer a poster child for Tennessee’s transfer efforts alongside Snead. He hit 102 mph Friday.

Brandon Arvidson has Snead vibes for his ability to fill any role. He struck out three in 1⅔ innings Sunday and had Arizona hitters taking uncomfortable swings.

The Vols freshly added Tegan Kuhns, Dylan Loy and AJ Russell into the mix, but only Loy is full-go. Kuhns and Russell still ramping up is just more juice for the Vols. Kuhns started Sunday, striking out three in two innings of one-run ball in the 5-1 win against Arizona.

“He ain’t scared,” Vitello said. “He wants the ball.”

Loy pitched Tennessee out of a jam against Oklahoma State and was precise Sunday. Russell did not pitch in Houston as he progresses in his return from Tommy John surgery. He debuted against North Alabama and struck out the side.

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Austin Hunley has ascended to a jam-escaper role. Brayden Sharp is a new left-handed option. Ryan Combs is essentially the closer.

“We know we are all here for one goal and that is to win, so we are going to play as hard as we can and be out there as long as possible,” Snead said.

Loy got the third out of the eighth inning Sunday but headed back toward the mound unaware the inning was over. He was ready to battle some more.

He didn’t need to. Combs came in for a 1-2-3 ninth inning, placing the final piece of the pitching staff’s statement on the three games in Houston.