Christian Moore returned to the dugout following a leadoff at-bat against Ole Miss in 2024.
“Good luck,” head coach Tony Vitello recalled Moore telling him.
Liam Doyle had just sat down the MLB first-round pick. He made sure to let his head coach know what problem was soon arising as the Vols faced Doyle.
“He threw against us and kind of put it down our throats,” catcher Cannon Peebles said.
Doyle finished that 2024 game with a then-career-high 10 strikeouts as the Vols struggled at the plate. Fast forward to Friday, Doyle once more showed his dominant abilities as he suited up for the fourth time in a Tennessee uniform.
The Ole Miss transfer posted 5.2 innings of no-hit baseball, allowing two baserunners on 104 pitches. Doyle exited to a standing ovation after striking out 13 of the 19 batters he faced. Between walking the first batter and the last batter of his outing, Doyle retired 17 batters in a row.
“I know I was cruising, but just trying to get the next guy out,” Doyle said. “It’s always the goal, so throw the next strike.”
He has been no stranger to big performances through four starts this season. In nearly every outing this season, Doyle has beaten a career-high in strikeouts. A strong 4.1-inning start against Oklahoma State saw a season-low with nine punchouts, before following it up with another below-standard 13 strikeouts against St. Bonaventure — for Doyle at least.
“I don’t know necessarily if it’s the best I’ve been, but I felt really good tonight,” Doyle said.
Doyle’s pace has put him atop all collegiate arms in the strikeout department. In 20.1 innings pitched, the lefty has 47 strikeouts. Doyle’s strikeout-per-nine-inning average sits at 21.04, which leads the nation.
His statistically best outing this season was a 5.1-inning stride against Samford, posting a career-high 14 strikeouts. Vitello argues that the Oklahoma State game — facing power-conference competition — was his best performance-wise.
“I think it arguably helped push him forward to this weekend, where he arguably threw the best,” Vitello said.
As strikeouts can be as swindling as his fastball, it’s evident that the production extends through the rest of his numbers. Doyle owns a 0.44 ERA, falling victim to a singular earned run off a mistake pitch that Samford took over the wall. That was one of six total hits that he’s surrendered this season, an unreal mark for a fourth-time starter.
“I think it’s the best fastball in college baseball,” Peebles said.
While the numbers pop, so does the rest of his game. The lefty averages high velocity, with upwards of 98 mph on his fastball. As a fastball-dominant pitcher, hitters are unable to touch it. Paired with a couple of deceiving off-speed pitches, there’s good reason for Doyle to be considered a No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft — as The Athletic’s Keith Law has already mocked.
“The amount of ride he has on it is crazy,” Peebles said. “It looks like it’s at your knee and the next thing you know, it’s at your chest as a hitter. It’s really hard to commit to getting on top of that because of his other pitches.”
His no-hit outing was coupled with a finishing performance by the four other pitchers that followed him. Tennessee combined for the ninth no-hitter in program history, a collegiate first for many of the players involved.
Doyle won’t get another go until SEC play arrives, but it’s not a territory that he’s unfamiliar with. A season ago at Ole Miss, the supporting numbers were lackluster — but the talent and strikeouts were enough to concern Vitello, which is why he was so quick to bring the lefty along to be the ace of the staff.
Florida is the next weekend series, and the Gators will have the next chance to tag a blemish on Doyle’s dominant delivery.
