Tennessee ace Liam Doyle is having an All-American caliber junior season for the Vols and has arguably been the most dominant starting pitcher in the country this year. For the season, Doyle boasts a 10-3 record and a 2.84 ERA in 18 appearances while leading the nation in total strikeouts (158) strikeouts per nine innings (15.46) and total strikeouts (158), which is a new UT single-season record. He has reached double-digit strikeouts eight times this season, including four such games in SEC play. Doyle’s 10 victories are tied for first in the SEC and ninth nationally.
The junior left-hander was nearly unhittable in the month of April, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched over four starts while holding opposing hitters to a .087 average. Doyle put on a dazzling performance in UT’s Friday night road victory at No. 6 Ole Miss on April 11 to win SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors for the second week in a row. He has earned the honor three times this season, marking the first time a UT pitcher has done so. Despite pitching in a hostile environment, Doyle set the tone for the Vols’ winning weekend in Oxford, tossing a career-high 8.1 innings while allowing just two runs on three hits to earn the win over his former team. He finished with an SEC career-best 14 strikeouts on the night, which also tied a career-high mark that he set earlier this season against Samford.
Prior to his most recent pitcher of the week honor, Doyle was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on March 10 and April 7, after helping the Vols throw combined no-hitters both times. Most recently, he was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist.