Tony Vitello breaks down what he knows about Tennessee’s starting pitching

The Tennessee baseball team might not have to worry about run production if the start of the 2025 season is any indication. Pitching, on the other hand, remains a work in progress.

The Volunteers have won each of their opening four games by run rule in seven innings, including a 29-4 demolition of UNC Asheville on Tuesday night. The 29 runs plated tied a record in the Tony Vitello era.

So what will Tennessee do for starting pitching?

“I think (pitching coach) Frank (Anderson) does his thing and gets his guys to understand that throwing strikes is Step 1,” Vitello said before the season began. “I mean that’s not anything out of the norm for any program, but he’s excelled at that. The numbers back it up, and I think our guys realize Kirby (Connell)‘s on our staff for a lot of reasons, the mustache included. But strikes is what got him out there as a freshman early and often. So they see the value in that.”

Tennessee seems to have a pretty clear pecking order in the weekend rotation right now, though the Sunday spot could still be somewhat in flux.

Liam Doyle gave the Volunteers an All-American caliber outing in the season opener, going five innings and giving up just one hit. He did not walk a batter and he struck out 11.

The second starter was also sharp, with Marcus Phillips throwing four innings and giving up one hit, albeit with two walks to four strikeouts.

The final weekend starter was Nate Snead, who made it through three innings and gave up one run (one earned) on two hits and three walks. He struck out three.

So while the starting rotation isn’t set in stone for Tennessee, there are some obvious answers.

“I think we do have a lot of guys that either right now are capable of doing it or they’re committed to doing it,” Vitello said. “And, again, there’s always improvement that’s needed. So there’s several guys that can do that. And that’s going to be needed early in the year because, whether it’s Drew Beam or whoever, four innings is kind of a good start in February.

“So as guys get out there more often than they normally would in May, when a starter might go seven, it kind of forces you to use more guys is my point. We’ll get more information and March 14 we’ll probably look more different than Valentine’s Day.”

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