The Porch: Undefeated Vols welcome Bonnies for final weekend of nonconference
Tennessee enters the final weekend of nonconference play with an undefeated record and is set to play host to St. Bonaventure this weekend from Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Former Tennessee catcher Charlie Taylor joins The Porch to preview what’s to come and to look back on a successful trip to Houston.
The No. 2 Vols (13-0) swept the field of play in Houston at the Astros Foundation College Classic with solid wins over Oklahoma State, Rice and Arizona. Tennessee returned home to win a pair of midweek contests this week, 22-9 over Radford and 13-1 against Xavier.
The Bonnies (7-4) are coming off a midweek loss at Vanderbilt on Wednesday and entered the year preseason picked last in the Atlantic 10 Conference following an 18-31 record in 2024 with an 8-16 mark in conference play.
A big-time thanks to our friends over at Spivey, King & Spivey, LLP for making The Porch possible for a third-straight year. Problem? Let us help find a solution. Call 423-245-4185 for a free consultation today.
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More on the co-hosts: Zander Sechrist & Charlie Taylor
With one-time Tennessee baseball home run champion – and OG cohost of The Porch – Luc Lipcius still stopping by from time to time, this year’s rotation will include a couple of other fan favorites in VFLs Zander Sechrist and Charlie Taylor.
Sechrist was a career midweek starter for the Vols before exploding onto the scene the back half of the 2024 season to become a true legend in Tennessee lore. The southpaw started Game 3 of the College World Series Finals last summer and tossed 5.1 innings of one-run baseball with seven strikeouts. He compiled a stat sheet of 34.2 innings of nine-run (five earned) baseball, where he surrendered 29 hits with 28 strikeouts over his final six starts in 2024. In four NCAA postseason starts (including two in Omaha) the lefty combined to pitch 22.2 innings of seven-run (three earned) baseball while giving up 21 hits with 19 strikeouts.
That’s getting it done.
In four years with Tennessee, Sechrist accounted for a 12-2 overall record and a 2.52 career ERA over 161 innings pitched. The lefty tallied 165 strikeouts while walking only 29 batters while opponents registered a lousy .232 average against him.
Taylor has been one of the best teammates and club house guys the Vitello era has witnessed. As a reserve catcher for the Vols from 2022-24, Taylor appeared in 86 games with 37 starts, hitting four home runs with 22 RBI at the plate. He was called on to start a few games in the 2022 Knoxville Regional and delivered a key sacrifice bunt that fans haven’t forgotten.
