KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee baseball picked up a stress-free series-opening win over St. Bonaventure Friday in Knoxville, blowing out the Bonnies 12-0.
The Vols’ pitching staff combined to throw a no-hitter, the fourth team no-hitter in program history and first since 2000 vs. the College of Charleston. It is the 9th overall no-hitter and first of any kind since 2002.
Liam Doyle led the way for the Vols in a season-best outing on the mound, and the Vols’ offense recorded two five-run innings in the victory.
Here’s everything to know about a historic night in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Liam Doyle Has Season-Best Outing
Doyle had his best outing of the season and arguably career Friday, completely shutting down St. Bonaventure in 5.2 innings of work.
The hard-throwing lefty walked his first batter of the game then proceeded to retire a whopping 17 straight, the most consecutive batters he’s retired all year.
Doyle’s day was done after issuing his second walk and throwing 104 pitches on the night. The Ole Miss transfer finished his outing allowing no hits and was two baserunners away from being flawless.
The Lindsey Nelson Stadium crowd gave him a standing ovation as he walked back to the dugout.
Liam Doyle final line: 5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 13 K, 72 strikes on 104 pitches.
Doyle is averaging just under 12 strikeouts per game. If he keeps that pace, he will record approximately 164 Ks in the regular season.
77% of the outs Doyle has recorded this year are via…
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) March 8, 2025
“Yeah, arguably,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said on if that was the best Liam Doyle has looked all season. “He’s throwing more off-speed (pitches) than he’s ever thrown before. I think he’s going to be able to throw deeper into games than he ever has before, because he’s in good shape. So I think every time he gets to go out there and learn like he did last weekend — I think it’ll only help him, and odds are, it helped push him forward to this weekend, where he arguably threw the best.”
“I don’t necessarily know if it’s the best I’ve been, but I felt really good tonight,” Doyle said. “Gotta throw more strikes in those first two innings, keep the pitch count down to be able to go deeper into the game, but I felt really good tonight.”
Doyle tallied 13 total strikeouts, just one shy of his career high, bringing his season total to 47.The New Hampshire native has mowed through non-conference competition all season long, and he capped off non-conference play with his best outing yet as a Vol.
Including Friday’s game, Doyle is averaging just under 12 strikeouts per game. If he keeps that pace, he will record approximately 164 Ks this regular season, which would be a program record, if he starts 14 games as he’s projected.
Additionally, 77% of the 61 outs Doyle has recorded this year have been via strikeout.
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Pair of 2nd Inning Homers Give Vols Early, Comfortable Lead
Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo each homered in the second inning to give the Vols a 5-0 lead after two.
Peebles’ delivered a three-run blast to right-center after Andrew Fischer worked a leadoff walk and Reese Chapman hit a one-out single.
Peebles’ third blast of the season traveled 367 feet into the wind at 103 miles per hour.
Bargo added to Tennessee’s lead with a two-run shot of his own, hammering his fourth blast of the year to the left-field porches to also score Jay Abernathy, who singled.
Most of Tennessee’s hitters have had success in non-conference play but Bargo has struggled with consistency. That wasn’t the case Friday. The junior utility man went 2-3 at the plate with a double, homer and two walks.
Kilen, Fischer Blow it Open the Sixth
After scoring one run in the fourth and fifth inning thanks to a Dean Curley sac fly and Levi Clark RBI single, second baseman Gavin Kilen blew the game open in the sixth with a three-run bomb.
Bargo legged out a double to open the inning before Curley walked. Kilen brought both home with a 395-foot opposite field homer off the top of the wall in left-center,the deepest part of the park.
Kilen’s team-leading 8th homer of the season wasn’t all for Tennessee in the sixth, as Andrew Fischer launched a two-run bomb over the video board in the sixth.
Fischer’s homer marked his 6th of the season and 5th in the last four games, as the Ole Miss transfer continues to display elite power-hitting ability leading up to conference play.
Vols Finish Off Team No-Hitter
Tanner Franklin retired his lone batter of the evening to finish the sixth inning after relieving Doyle. Brandon Arvidson retired the side around a leadoff walk in the seventh, freshman Brayden May recorded a 1-2-3 inning in his Tennessee debut in the eighth, and Michael Sharman retired the side in order in the ninth to finish off the combined no-hitter.
In total, Tennessee allowed just three baserunners on the night, all via walks.
Up Next
The Vols will look to clinch the series over St. Bonaventure Saturday in Lindsey Nelson Stadium. First pitch is at 6:00 p.m. ET on SECN+.
