With more to gain on Wednesday in Omaha, Zander Sechrist is the right call

OMAHA, Neb. — When Zander Sechrist toes the rubber for the first time Wednesday afternoon in the College World Series, a lot will be on the line for Tennessee baseball. With a victory, the Vols advance on to the championship series on the Greatest Show on Dirt.

Thankfully, this won’t be anything new for the veteran southpaw. In fact, his last four starts have meant so much more than a typical win or a loss for Tennessee.

His six-inning scoreless effort in the regular season finale against South Carolina clinched a Southeastern Conference championship for the Big Orange. The six-inning, two-run line against Vanderbilt propelled Tennessee into the SEC Tournament title game the next day in Hoover.

Sechrist’s 4.2 innings of gritty work on the mound against Southern Miss got the Vols on track to win the Knoxville Regional and his career-outing of 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball on 102 pitches last weekend against Evansville put Tennessee back in Omaha for the second time in three years.

To say he’s been pitching well right now would be a vast understatement. So, with another opportunity to push his team on in postseason play, this being the absolute final stage, Tennessee fans should feel good about who Tony Vitello is sending out there on Wednesday.

“He’s logged a ton of innings for us in his career with us and just been a good leader and a good teammate as well,” the skipper said to the media on Tuesday. “Now, I don’t want to call it gravy or anything like that, but now it’s time to enjoy the opportunity for him to compete and then for us to enjoy the opportunity to watch him compete while at the same time just kind of managing the game as best we see fit.”

Over the course of Sechrist’s first 36 career starts, the lefty went six innings pitched only once. The southpaw has accomplished the feat now three times in his past four starts.

He wasn’t always the No. 3 starter in the weekend rotation. Sechrist hasn’t even held that role wire-to-wire in 2024. He’s pitched on Tuesdays in the midweek, out of the bullpen on weekends – but he’s settled firmly into that role the back half of the season and he’s seeing the fruits of his labor right now on the mound.

“I kind of just wanted to work at it and I knew I could do it, but I just needed the confidence behind me,” the pitcher told Volquest. “Going into the season, I didn’t really know what I was going to expect. Maybe the same role, maybe not the same role, maybe more of like a weekend bullpen role – but just kind of ran with it and it’s coming into fruition.”

So, why stay with Tennessee when nothing was guaranteed? In this era of college athletics when playing time isn’t as much as you’d like, looking for greener pastures is an easy thing to do. And sometimes that’s the right call, but it’s not for everyone.  

“I had a hunch, I won’t lie. I had a hunch that I was going to get it at some point,” Sechrist revealed. “I just didn’t know when. But I was going to work as hard as I could to get into that spot.”

The hard work has paid off.

It hasn’t always been roses, though, as the senior went through a rough stretch towards the end of the regular season. Following a [then] career outing against Georgia on March 31, Sechrist gave up multiple runs in each of his next six starts with most being three-inning max efforts. He also allowed at least one home run in five of those six starts, including two in a start against Kentucky.

Getting the early hook isn’t fun, but the pitcher knew his role was to go out and get as many outs as he was allotted.

“Just pitch, I guess,” Sechrist laughed. “They don’t really give you like a set timeline at all. So, although it’s frustrating to get pulled in like the second inning or something, it’s V’s [Tony Vitello] call. So I’m a hundred percent behind them no matter what. If I’m throwing five innings, it’s five innings, six innings, it doesn’t matter.”  

As any good pitcher would, the lefty worked out of it and stayed true to himself in the process. It’s paid off.

“Zander is just being Zander. He goes out there and competes, no matter what pitches he has or what is working for him that day,” catcher Cal Stark said on Tuesday. “He’s going to give it all he has and he’s going to put his best foot forward for the team. If he can do that again tomorrow, I like out chances.”

Sechrist has been a rock for the Tennessee staff for much of the past month. He’s given the Vols a lot this year, never complaining, always going to work. But the southpaw has rounded into form of late and the Vols have been great for it.

Here’s to Wednesday following along to the same tune as the Vols take on Florida State for a spot in the College World Series Finals on the line.