Tony Vitello updates starting pitching plans ahead of LSU series

Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello was asked of the staff’s plans for starting pitching ahead of hosting LSU this weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and the skipper was noncommittal on what he’ll do for the series.  

The Vols have been running with right-handed hurler AJ Causey on Fridays [in place for an injured AJ Russell], righty Drew Beam on Saturdays and [for the past three weeks] left-hander Zander Sechrist on Sundays as an opener ahead of Nate Snead out of the bullpen.

“We haven’t discussed it. As soon as the game ends, we do start talking about some things, but we want our guys to approach Tuesday like it’s the Main Event, Super Bowl, whatever it may be,” Vitello said earlier in the week. “So, in order to do that, we have to be in line with what they got going on or what we want them to do. So, it is truly a blind eye towards the weekend, but as soon as the game is over, we only have a finite amount of time to get prepared. And rather than be hustle bustle, we’d rather be ahead of things. So, we haven’t talked about that point in general, but we have had some guys come back and be available to us, and so we’ll strategize as best we can who belongs on what day and what we want to do. But we’ve got a pretty good idea about the guys who log innings or throw a certain amount of pitches for us.”

If a change were to be made, it would likely come in the game one role as Causey has struggled in each of his past two outings as Russell remains sidelined.

The righty’s final line against Auburn last weekend was 1.1 innings pitched where he collected only four outs. He allowed eight runs off eight hits with four strikeouts on 42 pitches (30 strikes). In his past two starts [Georgia, Auburn], Causey has surrendered 16 runs (15 earned) on 15 hits – four of which have left the yard. In SEC play, the righty has allowed 21 runs whereas the transfer allowed just five runs in nonconference play.

If someone different starts game one this weekend, Causey could follow in a piggy-back role just as he started the season doing. He was recruited to Tennessee out of the transfer portal for a chance to earn a starting job in the weekend rotation, but also to have a high-end arm in the bullpen worst-case scenario. He slid into the Friday night role following the injury to Russell and flourished, thus promoting his extended stay.  

Beam bounced back last weekend with a stellar complete game gem (seven innings) against Auburn where he allowed two runs (one earned) off three hits with eight strikeouts and only one walk. Prior to the win, Beam had surrendered 17 runs (12 earned) on 22 hits over 16 innings of SEC play. Sechrist, who pitched a career-game two weeks ago against Georgia, has been solid as an opener the past three weeks – combining for 10.1 innings pitched where he’s surrendered four runs off 12 hits.

Other options to potentially start games for Tennessee include bridge-type openers such as right-handed junior Aaron Combs or graduate lefty Chris Stamos. The former, who has started two games this season for Tennessee already, was at his best last weekend against Auburn with one run off three hits over four innings of relief. Stamos hasn’t started any games for the Vols this season but did open four games while pitching for Cal from 2022-2023.

Freshmen Derek Schaefer (2 starts) and Matthew Dallas (2 starts) have limited experience in the role but have not been priority arms for the Vols in conference play. Fellow freshman Dylan Loy has started each of the past two midweek games for Tennessee, including Tuesday’s 20-2 win over Alabama A&M. Nate Snead, who ranks second on the squad with 38.1 innings pitched on the year, is a starting option as well – though he’s been used in long relief exclusively this season.