Saturday’s version of Marcus Phillips is what Vols have been waiting for  

HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee baseball held on for a 6-4 win over Vanderbilt Saturday night in the semifinal round of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. Right-handed hurler Marcus Phillips was a huge reason why.

The junior college transfer entered the game in the seventh inning with Tennessee leading 6-2, taking over for starter Zander Sechrist who earned the win after tossing six innings of two-run baseball. Phillips was amped up and pumping coming into the game, reaching 100 miles per hour on a strikeout pitch to Braden Holcomb. The Commodores were retired in 1-2-3 fashion in the seventh when the new pitcher entered the ballgame.

“It was definitely cool. That’s something that we’ve been waiting for the whole season,” second baseman Christian Moore said in postgame. “For him to come out there and just do him and throw 98 and be that guy for us. He did it tonight and we’re so grateful for him.”

The eighth inning was not as fruitful for the hard-throwing righty as one run scored on two hits and the bases were loaded with the tying run in scoring position at one point in the frame. Phillips was able to limit the damage and escape further trouble by inducing a Matthew Polk groundout to exit the frame, still with three-run lead intact.

“Tough one to answer other than just gut feel. I mean, there was — you know, we had Loy down there hot and he was — it was a couple times. And he was even told, You’re going to get this guy, and then we just stuck with him, and part of it is just communication with Frank [Anderson], and a lot of times you just got to go with your gut,” Tony Vitello said when asked why he stuck with Phillips in the eighth inning. “But I like it better in the corner when Coach [Josh] Elander speaks up from a catcher’s point of view and what he’s seeing. It’s a little easier when you’re in that spot because you’re not so emotional and you’re not stressing, well, what if I make the wrong decision and what if not.

“He certainly made it difficult to take him out after that first inning, but there were some dicey moments in there where obviously we’re glad we stuck with him. He grew up a lot today. It was good.”

Phillips again found trouble in the ninth inning. While nursing a three-run lead at 6-3, the hurler gave up singles to Holcomb and Jack Bulger – and they both moved up 90 feet into scoring position on a passed ball. Calvin Hewitt popped up to second base for the first out but a sacrifice off the bat of Jonathan Vastine cut the deficit to two runs at 6-4. Still, a David Diaz flyout to center ended the game with the tying run at the plate.

“I think just the conviction. You can kind of see it when he’s steering it in there,” Vitello said when asked what was different about Phillips on Saturday compared to his last outing against the Commodores. “The harder he throws the better he throws because he’s so big and strong and the stuff is so good. But you can kind of see when he’s guiding it in there as opposed to letting it rip.     

“But you could see it from the get-go that it was coming out of his hand with conviction, which at the end of the day, that’s what being a competitor is, is put your best stuff or your best approach out on the field and just see where it gets you.”

From the other side of the equation, Vanderbilt skipper Tim Corbin knew it was going to be a tough ask to get to Phillips on Saturday.

“That’s a really good arm. I mean, that’s a guy that, if you look up in two or three years, you’re going to see him on TV, probably out of a bullpen,” the opposing coach praised. “It’s really, really hard stuff. It seems to me like there’s not a lot of effort to what he does and he’s wild enough to keep you honest in the batter’s box. You’re not sitting in there. You’re not comfortable.

“But I thought we got off some good swings there at the end, and I was hoping that we could break him, but credit him, he was tough down the stretch and they rode him, they needed to. I mean, 42 pitches deep, I mean, he did a good job for them.”

Phillips needed this outing for the Vols – an outing that was a career-long of three innings that notched his second save of the year. If Tennessee can count on the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher I regional play, watch out. It’s going to make one of the best pitching staffs in the country that much more dangerous.