Tony Vitello explains move away from Liam Doyle in Arkansas five-run fourth

Hindsight is ALWAYS 20-20. Fans and media alike play that game all the time after a big decision goes one way or the other. On Sunday, Tony Vitello’s decision to play matchups in the fourth inning, taking ace Liam Doyle out of the ballgame, did not pan out in Sunday’s 11-4 loss in the Fayetteville Super Regional.  

Sometimes, that’s baseball.

“You always want to go back in time if it doesn’t go well,” Vitello said after the game. “I think the matchup was [Charles] Davalan for AJ [Russell]. We went with the better breaking ball, off their two-hole hitter, off Aloy. And then I think it’s a good matchup with how good AJ has been against lefties.” 

Tennessee’s ace was laboring all day to begin with. The pitch count was high, but at the time of his departure, he had allowed just one costly hit and that was a two-run homer. Still, with the bases loaded and two outs, Vitello opted to play matchups and went with freshman Brayden Krenzel against Golden Spikes Award Finalist Wahiwa Aloy.

The righty allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, making it 3-1, before plunking Aloy to end the at-bat. That would be the only batter he faced as Vitello went to the bullpen and retrieved veteran AJ Russell to collect the final out of the inning. What happened instead was four runs off one swing of the bat as Logan Maxwell put the game out of reach at 7-1 in the fourth inning.  

“I thought I made a good pitch. It was spun well and carried a little more than I anticipated it would spin,” Russell reflected. “I kind of thought it was a fly out off the bat. It got out and he just made a good swing on it. One through nine, like he (Hunter Ensley) can do that. They’re really good and if you make a mistake, that stuff happens.”

Overall, the southpaw lasted just 3.2 innings, tying for his second-shortest outing of the season. His shortest outing came in a rain-suspended contest against Auburn on May 2, but he also lasted just 3.2 innings against Texas as well in the SEC Tournament on May 22.

“Liam is always going to tell you he’s 1,000 percent,” Vitello continued. “Let the guy die on a shield, maybe, or go out on a shield. Who is to say he wouldn’t have got him out. So, I wish I had all those answers. We’d be in a different spot right now.”

Doyle ended up allowing five earned runs off five hits and six strikeouts and two walks. The lefty tossed 73 pitches (43 strikes). Doyle just couldn’t figure out Arkansas this season, allowing a combined 13 runs (11 earned) on 16 hits. Sunday’s five earned runs tied for the second-most of the season for Doyle, which was a start at Alabama in March – second only to his first outing against the Razorbacks.  

“Just that Monday was a factor. And it doesn’t have to be for future teams,” Vitello said of what affected Doyle. “I’ve been on some teams where it’s not. It was a factor. And I think just in general. So it was also pretty memorable and pretty special. And I don’t know that, if we don’t play on Monday, who’s to say that we win a game or beat Arkansas. Again, can’t go back in time or see in the future. But I think the way he was missing spots in particular, leaving balls, armside to lefties.”

Liam Doyle ends his Tennessee career with 164 strikeouts in over 95 innings pitched with a 3.21 ERA.