Liam Doyle Dominates In Return To Ole Miss As Tennessee Baseball Takes Series Opener

Liam Doyle came roaring off the mound in a state of pure jubilation, screaming first to his Tennessee teammates and then at his former Ole Miss teammates. Doyle dominated in his return to Oxford with his 14th strikeout amplifying a brilliant 8.1 inning outing in Tennessee’s 3-2 series opening win over the Rebels.

Here’s what to know about the Vols’ top 10 series opening win as Doyle stole the show and Gavin Kilen returned to the lineup.

Liam Doyle Raises To The Occasion In Return To Oxford

Explicative laden chants reigned down from the Swayze Field crowd at Tennessee’s Liam Doyle as he made his return to Oxford. The highly touted left hander seemed to feed off the vitriol, turning in a stellar eight-plus innings of work against his old team.

Doyle was perfect his first time through the order, facing the minimum while striking out six Rebels. Ole Miss leadoff man Luke Hill reached on an infield single to open the fourth inning and promptly advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch. He calmly struck out the next three Rebels he faced to strand Hill on second base.

The lone blemish on Doyle’s outing came in the fifth inning when he offered up a one-out walk and Austin Fawley punished a hanging breaking ball into the left field seats with two-outs, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 3-2.

Doyle responded to the long ball extremely well, sitting down the next eight Rebels he faced.

The left-handed pitcher finished the night allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out 14 in 8.1 innings pitched.

It was an incredibly efficient outing for Doyle which has been the one knock on his season. He didn’t throw more than 16 pitches in a single inning, throwing 73 strikes on 111 pitches. That allowed Doyle to go deeper into the game than he has all season. His previous long outing of the season was six innings.

Welcome Back Gavin Kilen

Tennessee infielder Gavin Kilen made his return to the starting lineup on Friday night after missing the last 12 games, besides one pinch hit at-bat, with a hamstring injury.

Kilen isn’t all the way back to 100%, starting at designated hitter instead of his usual second base spot. But his bat sure was. After flying out on a hard hit ball to right field in the first inning, Kilen got on a role. He roped a single to right field with one-out in the third inning. His hamstring obviously limited on the play and it would have been a double if he was completely healthy.

The left-handed bat found a way to leg out a double on a hard hit liner to right field his next time out. That fifth inning double gave Tennessee runners on second and third with nobody out and led to the Vols adding a run to their lead on a Hunter Ensley chopper to third.

Kilen finished the night two-for-four in his return to the lineup. On a night where Tennessee totaled just five hits, Kilen’s offensive production was quite valuable.

More From RTI: Tennessee Baseball Stars Readying For Return To Ole Miss This Weekend

Mason Morris Comes Out Of Bullpen To Shut Down Tennessee’s Lineup

Kilen’s previously mentioned double came in the at-bat right after Ole Miss right-handed pitcher Mason Morris came into the game. It was one of the few times Tennessee batters had success against Morris.

The tall right hander lived in the strike zone, throwing 48 strikes on 65 total pitches. Commanding the strike zone with a mid-90s fastball and a disgusting curveball was a recipe for success.

Tennessee totaled just three baserunners against Morris while he struck out eight batters in five innings pitched.

Morris’ dominance highlighted Tennessee’s ability to not fully capitalize on a shaky night for Hunter Elliott. The Rebels ace walked four batters in four innings pitched. Tennessee had some success against him, but was never able to truly break things open.

Tennessee Pieces Together The Ninth Inning

Doyle had thrown 103 pitches through eight innings but Tony Vitello put him back out on the mound to open the ninth inning. He retired the first batter he faced before allowing a seven-pitch walk to put the tying run aboard and end his day.

Nate Snead came in to relieve Doyle and retired Judd Utermak on a fly out to deep right field. Vitello then turned to Dylan Loy to try and get lefty Will Furniss out to end the game. Furniss won the lefty-lefty battle, working a seven pitch walk to put the go-ahead run aboard.

But Loy got Hayden Federico to fly out to right field to end the game and secure the series-opening win. Neither outing was long, but Tennessee used its top two relievers to secure the series opening win.

Box Score

Up Next

Tennessee and Ole Miss resume their weekend series at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday evening at Swayze Field. The SEC Network+ is streaming the game.