No. 4 Tennessee (30-4, 10-3 SEC) defeated No. 7 Ole Miss (26-8, 8-5 SEC), 3-2, Friday at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.
Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Liam Doyle (6-1) started for Tennessee and pitched a career-high 8.1 innings. He recorded 14 strikeouts and allowed three hits, two earned runs, two walks and one wild pitch. Doyle totaled 111 pitches, including 73 strikes, against 30 batters.
Ole Miss hit into seven ground outs and four fly outs against the Vols' junior left-handed pitcher.
Doyle transferred to Tennessee from Ole Miss after the 2024 baseball season. Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello discussed Doyle's pitching performance in his return to Ole Miss.
"There’s obviously a progression that he’s making and there’s a storyline behind it with him being here," Vitello said. "You could see maybe a little bit of extra passion, but it was controlled, and so what I was originally going to talk about was the progression he’s making as a starting pitcher. I think he got a few starts as a freshman, last year started here and he’s still trying to find a way to be the best version of himself because unfortunately as a starter it’s a marathon not a sprint. You’re up and down and he’s not built like that. He’s an extreme competitor, so again, the extra focus, or whatever it was, helped him control that emotion and passion.
"Maybe there was extra, but to be honest with you, he’s always got that to him. Maybe a little added focus, teammates helped him out behind him, but he was a Friday night SEC guy tonight. Their guy wasn’t at his best, but you saw (Mason) Morris come in and he’s a Friday SEC guy too."
This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Tennessee pitcher Liam Doyle by the numbers in win at Ole Miss
