Saturday’s big baseball show belongs in Believe It or Not. More runs than hits are rare.
Tennessee had only two hits and three other base-runners in the opener of the Fayetteville Super Regional. Arkansas dominated. The Razorbacks won, 4-3. The overflow crowd was loud and boisterous. Some of the emotion spilled onto the field.
Pitcher Marcus Phillips #23 and Catcher Stone Lawless #27 are ready to play the Arkansas Razorbacks June 7, 2025, at Baum–Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.
Ace lefthander Liam Doyle will try to extend the Volunteers’ season, beginning at 3 p.m. on ESPN. If history matters, 79 percent of first-game winners advance to the College World Series.
Coach Tony Vitello will try to awaken his slumbering non-hitters and hope to break the trend. Tennessee’s total offense in Game 1 was a season low. Dalton Bargo reached first on an error. Gavin Kilen and Dean Curley earned bases on balls. Curley and Andrew Fischer hit home runs.
“Tight game, so we’ll look back and see how I can do a better job,” said Vitello.
The coach found some positives – including defense. The Vols escaped two early jams with double-plays and Reese Chapman made a heck of a catch at the wall in right field.
“What was not a positive is we were one short on the scoreboard … maybe a little extra motivation tomorrow.”
Vitello correctly said Arkansas pitcher Zach Root was a big part of the winning edge. He retired the first 12 Vol batters in order. He allowed one hit and two runs in seven innings. The coach could have been trapped by a post-game question: Was he pleased with the quality of Tennessee at-bats against the big lefty?
“Ah, not really. You could spin that pretty good if I said yes, and make me look foolish because you’d like better results.”
Root, at times, appeared to be running a fever. He and Fisher chose each other as personal adversaries. Root enthusiasm overflowed when Andrew grounded into a double-play in the fifth. Such antics and commentary have occasionally triggered brawls or at least ejections.
Vitello said no problem, that Root is a big-time competitor.
“The guy was fired up, man. The way he threw, you could argue that he could have done a cartwheel if he wanted to and there’s nothing wrong with it … my issue was not with him.”
Vitello harked back to Monday when Vol catcher Cannon Peebles was ejected for far less.
“That’s where my frustration came in.”
The coach acknowledged that it wasn’t the same umpiring crew.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn was not overly impressed with his pitcher’s “kind of emotion.”
“I want him to stay under control so he can pitch longer. You can only do so much on adrenaline. It’s going to end up backfiring on you after a while, but his stuff was tremendous. He was just competing. I think the crowd probably got him going a little bit, and all that was going on.”
Andrew Fischer #11 is congratulated by catcher Stone Lawless #27 and Levi Clark #30 after Fischer’s home run early in the 9th inning.
Arkansas fans didn’t like Fischer any more than Root liked the Southeastern Conference home-run leader. The designated villain pretended to be a very nice guy and gently tossed a foul ball into the stands. The fan who picked it up threw it back. A few thousand others cheered.
Tennessee pitcher Marcus Phillips wasn’t as crisp as Root. Phillips worked into and out of congestion through the first five innings and held the Razorbacks to just one run. He eventually was charged with four on eight hits.
Arkansas got a run in the second inning on a Phillips wild pitch. Tennessee took the lead in the fifth after Bargo’s hard hit was scored as an error and Curley connected for his 14the home run.
Arkansas went back on top with a two-run home run. It was up 4-2 after six. Fischer provided serious drama in the top of the ninth. His 25th home run, off reliever Gabe Gaeckle, alarmed those who had been noisy. Alas, a groundout and a strikeout reignited the celebration.
Bits ‘n pieces: Tennessee hasn’t won a series in Fayetteville since 2001. Vitello is 2-12 against his former employers. Bargo has had one hit in his last 20 at-bats. Doyle, Tennessee single-season strikeout leader with 158, is a finalist for two top national awards. Root has an 8-5 record for the season. Arkansas home record is 37-4.
Marvin West welcomes comments or questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com
I’ll tell you how you can do a better job; Tony V. Recognize when your pitcher needs to be pulled. Phillips had just thrown 4 balls and 0 strikes to walk a batter with 2 outs in the 5th, and a 2-1 lead. The exact same scenario last week vs Wake. (trying to get through the 5th with the starter) Next batter up, 2 run shot that sealed the deal. Either Tony or the pitching coach is not reading the pitching. I’m yelling , get him outta there!
One could say our backs are “to the wall.” That generally means you are blindfolded, hands tied and facing a firing squad. Of course, one option is to charge the squad, plan of all the rifles jamming and just head-butt the shooters. That rarely works. In our case, we can win two and just walk off. It has only been a quarter century since we have done such in Arkansas. but there is always a first time for everything.