Phillips impressed in SEC Tournament
HOOVER, Ala. — Tennessee baseball needed something.
That is what happens “if you don’t think you got it perfectly lined up,” Vols coach Tony Vitello said. Someone has to give that something.
Marcus Phillips was that someone and that something Saturday against Vanderbilt.
“He grew up a lot today,” Vitello said. Phillips hadn’t done anything like what he did in a three-inning span for Tennessee in an SEC Tournament semifinal. He pumped fastballs at 100 mph at Hoover Met. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in UT’s 6-4 win. He was a relief as a relief pitcher and the No. 1 Vols (49-11) are playing No. 11 LSU (40-20) for an SEC Tournament title Sunday (3 p.m. ET, ESPN2) because of Phillips being that something.
Marcus Phillips hit 100 mph for Tennessee baseball vs Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt’s Jayden Davis came in as a pinch-hitter Saturday for his first at-bat since he was hit in the face by a pitch in late April.
“He was facing Bob Gibson out there throwing 100. Welcome back,” Commodores coach Tim Corbin said.
Phillips entered after six sterling innings from Zander Sechrist, who allowed two runs in his second straight elite start. He made the crowd buzz with his fastball immediately. He struck out Vanderbilt’s Braden Holcomb with two 99 mph and a 100 mph fastball to strike him out.
“The harder he throws the better he throws because he’s so big and strong and the stuff is so good,” Vitello said. “But you can kind of see when he’s guiding it in there as opposed to letting it rip.”
That is the type of arm Tennessee knew it had when it brought in Phillips from junior college. He is a hard-thrower who is still figuring it out with limited experience at Iowa Western Community College last season.
Saturday was Phillips’ third outing against an SEC opponent. His second was Wednesday against Vanderbilt in
UT’s 13-4 loss. This one was different. Vitello lauded the way Phillips threw with conviction. He allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts while earning a save.
“That’s a really good arm,” Corbin said. “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 (major league) bullpen.”
Why Tony Vitello stuck with Marcus Phillips through two jams
Vitello was faced with a decision in the eighth inning.
Phillips walked two straight batters to load the bases with two outs with Tennessee ahead 6-3. Vitello talked about the decision with pitching coach Frank Anderson and hitting coach Josh Elander. He stuck with Phillips, who got a comeback grounder to end the inning. It came down to “just gut feel,” Vitello said.
He rode Phillips again after the first two batters reached in the ninth.
“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,” Vitello said.
Phillips hadn’t deal with that much pressure in a high-leverage moment at UT. He hadn’t thrown more than two innings in a game. He showed he can do more for Tennessee, which is good now but even better for the future.
Christian Moore called Saturday the outing the Vols have been waiting to see from Phillips all season. Vitello described it as Phillips putting the best version of himself forward.
“I don’t think anybody can take away from him how he was throwing the ball tonight,” Vitello said.