A potential matchup between Tennessee and Wake Forest in this weekend’s Knoxville Regional could see the Vols’ lineup face off against a former Tennessee pitcher.
Sophomore LHP Matthew Dallas has started 13 games for the Demon Deacons this season including six games in ACC play. When serving as a weekend starter, Dallas pitched in game two of series including in Wake Forest’s final two regular season series against Pittsburgh and Louisville.
Dallas enters the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 record, 5.09 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 53 innings pitched this season. Conference play was a struggle for Dallas with the lefty earning a 8.72 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in 21.2 innings pitched.
The Memphis native started ACC play as the Demon Deacons Saturday starter but struggled badly. After giving up eight earned runs in two innings against Virginia Tech in late March, Wake Forest moved Dallas to midweek games to help him find his footing.
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Dallas moved back into the game two starting role the final two weeks of the regular season with better, but still not great, results. He allowed four earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched against Pitt before allowing three earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched against Louisville.
The 6-foot-5 lefty was a big time recruit for Tennessee in the 2023 recruiting cycle with the Vols having to survive that summer’s MLB Draft to get Dallas to Knoxville. Dallas showed flashes early in his freshman season but struggled with his command and was never able to earn a major role on the pitching staff for Tennessee’s 2024 national championship team.
Dallas posted a 4.76 ERA while striking out 22 batters in 17 innings pitched in his freshman season with the vast majority of his work coming against midweek competition.
In fact, Tennessee left Dallas off its active roster and travel squad at the College World Series. Dallas entered the transfer portal while the Vols were in Omaha before eventually landing at Wake Forest.
