Dylan Loy comes through in big-time, high-leverage situation

It was 4-0 Tennessee’s lead in the top of the fifth inning. Starting pitcher Liam Doyle was cruising along with nine strikeouts, but the pitch count was getting high.

After allowing a leadoff single, Doyle walked a batter with one out to put runners at first and second base. At 90 total pitches, his day was done but his line was in jeopardy of getting ugly despite the stellar outing.

In steps in sophomore Dylan Loy in a high-stakes situation. He got his first batter (Brayden Smith) to strike out on four pitches. Oklahoma State then went to the bench and called on Garrett Shull to pinch hit for Drew Culbertson, who was the No. 9 hitter.  

Down he went on three pitches. It seems simple, but that was a huge spot in the ballgame and Loy came through for the Vols.

“He got ready real fast. He always competes the same way,” Tony Vitello said of his sophomore southpaw. “He’s got a lot of different strengths, and now, like [Nate] Snead, Marcus [Phillips], some of these other guys, he can say, ‘I’ve got a lot of experience,’ based on what he did last year.”

Tennessee ended up needing to hold on a few more times, but did just that in the 5-2 win over Oklahoma State to begin its play in Houston at the Astros Foundation College Classic.

After not appearing in the first seven games of the season, the local product has now pitched in back-to-back contests. In both games, Loy has stranded base runners. Tuesday’s threat against North Alabama was by his own doing (double) but Friday’s heroics were to bail out Doyle.

“Down in ‘pen [bullpen], they were like, alright, start moving around. So, I was getting [to]moving around. They finally were like, all right, get up on the mound and get ready to get hot,” Loy said postgame. “Liam is one of the brothers, so we kind of went out there. He had a runner [of] his own on first and second and my job was just [to] get him out of that inning. So, I was just doing everything that I could and just kind of trusting my defense out there.

“So, just kind of running through that and just trusting my guy behind the plate.”

The appearance was short and sweet, but it was the biggest moment of the game at the time. It was important to keep the Cowboys at arm’s length, but also important not to spoil an outstanding start on the big stage by Doyle.

What makes things even more impressive – Loy has been limited to begin the year and has been playing catchup for weeks. He’s now back in the fold and will be used frequently, as this week has already told us.

“We’re just glad he is back in the mix,” Vitello continued. “We were kind of being overly cautious with him. Because of that, now he’s in the mix. There’s no holding him back or anything like that.”

Loy took his time and did his due diligence. He made sure he was right and was trusting those around him.  

“Basically, throughout that process, I was good,” Loy told Volquest on Friday. “It was just a little cold the first couple of weeks and everything and coming back from just a little minor thing. It can be easy to rush back, but kind of just updating the coaching staff and everything and how I was doing and how I was feeling. Then, just trusting them whenever they needed me. Whenever they felt like it was good to put me out there. I was just ready to go whenever they wanted me.” 

Mission accomplished this week for Loy, who is destined to be a large piece of the pitching staff with his versatility moving forward.