Tennessee baseball announces starting pitcher vs Arkansas in Fayetteville Super Regional
Marcus Phillips is starting for Tennessee baseball in its opener against Arkansas in the Fayetteville Super Regional .
Phillips (4-4, 3.71 ERA) will have a full week's rest entering the start for the Vols (46-17) against the Razorbacks (46-13) on June 6 (5 p.m. ET ESPN) in Game 1 of the super regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He made his most recent start on May 31 against Cincinnati. Phillips threw 98 pitches against Cincinnati, striking out eight and allowed three runs in 6⅔ innings.
Phillips started Tennessee's opener during its regular-season series at Arkansas, which was UT's first win at Baum-Walker Stadium under coach Tony Vitello. He allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in 4⅓ innings. He struck out three in the 10-7 win on May 15.
Liam Doyle likely is lined up to start Game 2 against the Razorbacks on June 8 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Doyle (10-3, 2.84 ERA) has been Tennessee's Game 1 starter in all but two instances this season, but he pitched twice in the Knoxville Regional including in the June 2 final against Wake Forest. The SEC pitcher of the year threw 135 pitches between his 104-pitch start against Miami (Ohio) in the May 30 regional opener and his 31-pitch save against Wake Forest to seal UT's fifth straight regional title.
Doyle had his rockiest start of the season at Arkansas on May 16. He allowed eight runs with six earned runs on 11 hits and two walks in 4⅔ innings. He struck out 10.
The Vols will have a fully loaded bullpen ready to go behind Phillips in the first game and again behind Doyle in the second game.
COMMIT: Bo Rhudy commits to Tennessee baseball as Kennesaw State transfer pitcher
'Day 3 doesn't exist until it comes," Vitello said June 5..
If the super regional reaches a third game, the likely options to start are AJ Russell (2-1, 3.52 ERA), Tegan Kuhns (2-4, 5.40 ERA) and Brandon Arvidson (2-0, 4.34 ERA). UT used Dylan Loy (4-0, 3.98 ERA) as an opener against Wake Forest on June 1 in the third game of the Knoxville Regional.
Russell, Arvidson and Loy all likely will be key bullpen pitchers in the first two games in the super regional. Russell has pitched in games Phillips has started the past two weekends. Arvidson has been a long reliever in back-to-back outings and was outstanding in both.
Kuhns did not pitch in the regional.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Washington Post
Sam Surridge scores his 18th goal and Joe Willis earns 9th clean sheet as Nashville beats Toronto
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sam Surridge scored his 18th goal of the season, Joe Willis earned his ninth clean sheet and Nashville beat Toronto FC 1-0 on Saturday night. Nashville (14-5-5), which won its ninth home game this season, set a franchise record for wins during the regular season, topping 13 set in 2022 and '23.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
How Derrick Lewis chatted with President Trump after knockout win on UFC Nashville card
The post-victory celebration has become a calling card for UFC all-time knockout leader Derrick Lewis. But despite a handful of now-legendary moments in the aftermath of his previous wins, none has topped what followed his highlight-reel first-round knockout over undefeated Tallison Teixeira in the main event of UFC's Fight Night from Nashville on July 12 at Bridgestone Arena. After his signature pound against the canvas and stripping of the shorts, Lewis hopped on the phone with President Donald Trump, thanks to some assistance from UFC president and CEO Dana White. "(It ranks) probably No. 1," Lewis said of the celebration. "Just because the president had called me. We started talking about business and I told him wait until I get to the White House and we'll really talk. It was pretty cool to have the president talk to me." More: Former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall fights to draw in Nashville with Shannon Briggs ringside Lewis (29-12) made his case to feature on a proposed summer 2026 UFC card that White and Trump are working to bring to the White House, an event virtually every fighter on the card expressed interest in being a part of. White said while Trump wasn't able to attend Nashville's event in person, he was tuned in, and when Lewis asked White to put him on the phone, he did his part. The celebration was in the aftermath of Lewis' record-extending 16th career UFC knockout, which came just 35 seconds into his bout against the 6-foot-7 Teixeira. Lewis had entered as an underdog after 14 months out of the octagon. Teixeira (8-1) had begun his career with eight first-round finishes, but it was Lewis who blitzed him out of the gate, landing a thunderous left hand to the chin that sent Teixeira tumbling to the ground, where Lewis would finish the show. "I was acting like something was in my eye and I was waiting for him to get a little closer," Lewis said in the post-fight news conference. "I was really trying to sell it . . . and that's what happened. I caught him." Nashville crowd shows up in full force It had been nearly two years since the UFC's previous trip to Nashville, and more than 17,000 fans packed into Bridgestone Arena to see the action, generating $2.2 million at the gate, according to White. While Lewis hails from Houston, he believes the Nashville crowd rivals any he has fought in front of, including his hometown fans. "It's crazy. It was too loud," he said. "It got louder than the Houston crowd, so it was pretty cool." Nashville has emerged as a combat sports destination this summer, with the PFL's World Tournament in June before bare knuckle boxing debuted in Tennessee later that month. And White believes Nashville is a location the UFC will continually look to return to after another successful show. "We will get back to Nashville as much as possible . . . (the fans) don't play here, man. If you start grappling for 30 seconds they go crazy," White said. "They want to see knockdown, drag 'em out fights here and (it's) obviously a very educated crowd. Everything about Nashville is fun, including the crowd." Harrison Campbell covers combat sports for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at hcampbell@ and follow him on Twitter @hccamp. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: UFC: Derrick Lewis calls President Trump after first-round knockout win
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Surridge scores, Willis earns clean sheet as Nashville beats Toronto 1-0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Surridge scored his 18th goal of the season, Joe Willis earned his ninth clean sheet and Nashville beat Toronto FC 1-0 in Major League Soccer action on Saturday night. Nashville (14-5-5), which won its ninth home game this season, set a franchise record for wins during the regular season, topping 13 set in 2022 and '23. Nashville is unbeaten in its last six matches against Toronto (5-12-6), outscoring the Canadian side 8-3. Nashville is also undefeated (3-0-0) against Toronto when Surridge scores. Surridge scored in the 28th minute. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson made a diving save off of Hany Mukhtar's left-footed shot outside of the box but it spilled to Surridge for an easy finish. Surridge became the 10th player in MLS history to score at least 18 goals in his team's first 24 games of a season and the first to do so since Carlos Vela and Josef Martínez in 2019. The shutout victory marked Willis' 76th career MLS regular- season clean sheet and his 101st career MLS regular season win. ___ AP soccer: The Associated Press
