The Porch: Zander Sechrist previews Tennessee at South Carolina
Tennessee baseball is back on the road this weekend for Southeastern Conference action as Tony Vitello’s club heads to the Palmetto State to take on South Carolina from Founders Park.
The No. 1 Vols (23-2, 5-1 SEC) took the series on the road last weekend at No. 12 Alabama, wining the final two bouts after dropping the opener. The Gamecocks (17-9, 1-5 SEC) have lost four-straight with only one conference win to date coming in game two at home against Oklahoma on March 15.
Paul Mainieri is back in the game and in his first season as the head coach of South Carolina following a three-year retirement. He was the head coach at LSU from 2007-2021, winning the College World Series in 2009.
The Gamecocks were picked 14th in the league’s preseason predicted order of finish with Ethan Petry (OF) named a first-team preseason All-SEC selection. Tennessee has won four-straight in the series and nine of the past 10 meetings.
Former Tennessee pitcher, and 2024 postseason hero, Zander Sechrist joins The Porch to preview all the action and to look back on a series-win at No. 12 Alabama. 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.
