The No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers finally fell back to earth last week after two teams finally managed to hand the team their first losses of the season. However, the pressure of losing has potentially provided answers to Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello about his Sunday pitching options.
The first drop of blood came in a midweek game against ETSU, with the second coming days later in the Vols’ first trip to another SEC ballpark when they kicked off their series against No. 10 Alabama.
Star pitcher and opening starter Liam Doyle showed some of his first signs of struggle against a strong Alabama lineup, allowing six runs in six innings and collecting nine strikeouts. The Vols’ late comeback attempt came up short, meaning the next two days would be do-or-die if the team wanted to make up for their singular SEC series blemish from the 2024 season.
A strong tag team performance from Saturday starter Marcus Phillips and “Swiss-army knife” Nate Snead allowed the Vols to force a rubber match the next day where many fans questioned who would get the start.
With the series on the line, Vitello called on highly-rated freshman righty Tegan Kuhns. The young pitcher did not disappoint in the slightest. Kuhns pitched in the third game against Florida the week prior but was in for just 2 2/3 innings. In that game, Kuhns struck out three batters and only allowed a single hit and no runs. This, combined with his earlier season contributions, likely gave Vitello confidence in sending the freshman out against a lineup that caused issues for the Vols all weekend.
Kuhns came out early to show he was up for the challenge, striking out two of the Crimson Tides’ leadoff hitters for a clean inning. Kuhns took his quick start and refused to slow down over the next 3 1/3 innings, keeping Alabama completely silent.
Speed was the name of Kuhns’ game, as the entire Alabama lineup struggled with his fastball that was consistently hanging in the 90s. Kuhns struck down five batters and didn’t allow a single free pass until a walk and his first hit led to Vitello calling on the bullpen. This showing gave Vitello more confidence in a pitcher he already had high praise for.
“With a little arm soreness and an undefined role, we’ve had him out there a couple times and kind of been a little restrictive due to pitch count, but he’s built himself into a position where he can give you a true start and he certainly did that today,” Vitello said after the Game 3 win.
Kuhns’ powerful performance on the mound was followed up by fellow freshman righty Brayden Krenzel. Krenzel entered into a situation with one out and runners on first and second but quickly escaped the inning unscathed with a strikeout and a flyout to keep the shutout going.
Krenzel kept his composure and continued to shut down batter after batter from the Alabama lineup, not allowing a run until late in the eighth when the Tennessee led 9-0. He finished the game with six strikeouts while allowing three hits and two runs, one unearned. By the time the Alabama lineup started getting any hits off either of these young arms, the possibility of a win was already out of reach.
This pair of performances to close out the series against an impressive SEC lineup provides a great amount of confidence in the depth and skill of this pitching room going forward into the season. This series is far from the Vols’ last test of the season as they move deeper into SEC play. But it should give SEC hitters plenty to worry about when they face this bullpen, as it will be a challenge to put up runs no matter what game in the series it is.
Tennessee travels next to Columbia, South Carolina, this weekend for its next series against the South Carolina Gamecocks, kicking off on Friday.
