Top 100 Draft prospect spearheads Tennessee's first no-hitter since 2002
Fellow potential first-rounders Kilen, Fischer add homers
Allison Mast
@allisonmast13Heavy is the head that wears the crown -- or in this case, the pink ¡°Daddy¡± hat. But the defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers have shown no signs of slowing down to start the season as they threw a combined no-hitter on Friday en route to a 12-0 victory over St. Bonaventure's.
It marks just the ninth no-hitter in program history and the first since 2002 as Tennessee continued its unbeaten streak to start the season.
The tone was set by MLB¡¯s No. 75 Draft prospect Liam Doyle, who isn¡¯t burdened by a 2024 title. The 6-foot-2 lefty started his career at Coastal Carolina before transferring to Ole Miss, where he led the team in strikeouts (84) last year. He crossed SEC lines to join the defending champs as their Friday night starter. He has proven his value immediately but even more so in the no-no, contributing 5 2/3 hitless innings with 13 strikeouts.
Through four starts in Tennessee orange, Doyle has compiled an 0.44 ERA with a Division-I-leading 47 strikeouts. There is still more than four months until the 2025 Draft, but the southpaw is currently on pace to pitch his way into first-round consideration -- maybe even top-of-the-board status.
¡°I was always pretty confident that I was making the right move just for myself and my career, no hate to any other place that I¡¯ve been at,¡± Doyle said of his decision to transfer. ¡°I¡¯m so glad to be here. It¡¯s a truly special place.¡±
While Doyle was making easy work of the Bonnies, the Vols were putting on a show at the plate. The vaunted pink ¡°Daddy¡± cap and leopard fur print jacket made their rounds in the dugout as Gavin Kilen (No. 28 Draft prospect), Andrew Fischer (No. 42), Cannon Peebles and Dalton Bargo hit home runs.
¡°Having that offense do what they do brings the blood pressure down and lets me go do what I do on the mound,¡± Doyle said.
A veritable embarrassment of riches, Tennessee has three additional players ranked among the Top 100 Draft prospects. It's an even more impressive feat considering the talent that has departed for the pros in recent years. Nine former Vols will be participating in this year's Spring Breakout, a showcase of top prospect talent that takes place March 13-16.
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Among the participants is Rockies top prospect Chase Dollander, who has some similarities to Doyle, according to Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello. Dollander was the ninth overall pick in the 2023 Draft.
¡°Dollander in ['23] was very similar [to Doyle],¡± Vitello said. ¡°If you¡¯re locating your fastball and controlling that adrenaline and subtracting speeds a little bit -- maybe they see 92 to 98 [mph] like tonight, it¡¯s not as basic as it could sound if you wrote it on paper."
Angels No. 1 prospect Christian Moore is another former Vol set to participate in Spring Breakout. He knows firsthand what it¡¯s like to face Doyle, and he shared his thoughts with Vitello:
"He faced Liam last year as our leadoff hitter," Vitello said of Moore. "He comes back [to the dugout] and goes, ¡®good luck.¡¯¡±
That good luck has flipped to their side.