Liam Doyle found himself in a jam of his own making in the fifth inning after hitting a pair of batters and walking another to load the bases with one out. Doyle worked his way out of the jam on just five pitches, jamming Kyuss Gargett on a first pitch fastball and then striking out Devin Burkes to exit the inning unscathed.
“I think that combo of being intense, like he is, because that’s not going anywhere, but being kind of focused on what he’s trying to do … I think that kind of served him in that moment right there,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said postgame. “So it was a huge part of the game. It was the biggest part of the game defensively.”
Doyle coming through in a big moment and turning in another stellar start, allowing just two runs on four hits while striking out nine in seven innings pitched, was unsurprising. But the way Doyle worked was different and impressive.
The way Doyle retired Burkes to end the fifth inning illustrated that change perfectly. Doyle has the best fastball in college baseball and he leans on it heavily. Burkes ambushed it on the first pitch he saw from Doyle in the first inning, lining it off the video board in right field for a three-run homer.
But in the critical fifth inning at-bat, Doyle flipped in a first breaking ball for a strike. Doyle went to it again on the second pitch and got it further down. Burkes could do nothing but chop it foul down the third base line. Burkes fouled off Doyle’s go-too two strike fastball up in the zone and then Doyle flipped him the offspeed low, inducing a Burkes whiff to end the inning.
“Liam finished getting out of that jam by throwing some incredible pitches,” Vitello said.
“That’s it. I think learning to pitch. … As he got deeper into the game, he did, like you mentioned, have to pitch a little more. I think we see a little more of that each week of just some versatility, if that’s the right word, out of Liam.”
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Both Doyle and catcher Cannon Peebles said Kentucky batters were hunting early count fastballs more than any team Doyle has faced this season. As a result Doyle adjusted. He leaned heavier on his offspeed, especially early in counts, and maybe most importantly he constantly threw it for a strike.
“One of those games and just one of those days where you got to make mid game changes to what your game plan was originally, which is fine,” Doyle said.
His 74 strikes on 101 pitches allowed him to largely cruise. The fifth inning walk that loaded the bases was his only on the afternoon and he had two separate stretched where he retired eight or more batters in a row.
“I’m confident in my off speed pitch,” Doyle said. “Obviously I throw a lot of fastballs and sometimes people think I’m one dimensional. But my off speed stuff has taken great leaps this year and I’m confident to throw at any count and anyone in the country.”
In his last three starts, Doyle has allowed just four runs on seven hits while striking out 31 in 21.1 innings pitched. The New Hampshire native has the fastball and raw stuff to be effective in the SEC as a thrower, but if he continues to grow as a pitcher than the sky is the limit.
“He’s growing up and blossoming in front of everybody,” Vitello said. “It’s good that he’s evolving the way that he is because we need him. And it’s fun to watch, that’s for sure. But also, it’s to his benefit.”
