If you haven’t seen it by now, Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce rewrote the history book on Sunday in Knoxville. During the seventh inning of Tennessee’s win against Auburn, Joyce delivered a 105.5 mile per hour fastball to the plate, thus setting a record for the new fastest pitch in college baseball history.
As soon as the official statistic came out, the internet ran wild reacting to the historic moment from Tennessee’s redshirt junior pitcher.
The craziest part about Joyce’s performance on Sunday is that the record-breaking pitch wasn’t even an outlier. That’s right. The record-breaking pitch wasn’t even an outlier. Had to say it twice for proper emphasis.
According to RTI’s Ryan Schumpert after the game, 28 of Joyce’s 53 total pitches were clocked in at 103 mph. 15 of Joyce’s pitches were at 104 mph, and on three separate occasions, Joyce touched the 105 mph mark.
After the Sunday game, Codify brought up an excellent statistic on Twitter that really helps put Joyce’s numbers into perspective. According to Codify, “no MLB pitcher on record has thrown more than 15 pitches at 103+ MPH in a game.” That means that Joyce’s 28 pitches of 103 mph were, at worst, double the amount that any major league pitcher has even thrown in a single game.
Vol Baseball: Ben Joyce’s ‘Historic’ Outing Just The Start For The ‘Volunteer Fireman’
Mr. 105 ⛽️🔥@benjoyce08 pic.twitter.com/he8NmEzjzD
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) May 1, 2022
See Also from RTI: Tennessee’s Ben Joyce Records Fastest Pitch in College Baseball History
During his four innings of work on Sunday, Joyce was terrific in a spot that he normally hasn’t found himself in often. Joyce was the immediate reliever for starting pitcher Drew Beam in the sixth inning and carried the Vols home the rest of the way.
Joyce struck out six batters on Sunday without giving up a walk in his four innings. In what can only be described as a dominant performance, Joyce only saw 12 batters en route to 12 outs.
Major league standout pitcher Aroldis Chapman is widely regarded for having the biggest cannon of an arm in the big leagues. According to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010, Chapman set the record with a blistering pitch clocking in at 105.1 mph. Over the next few years, Chapman would supposedly hit 106 mph on the mound, but there was controversy regarding the different radar guns that were in play.
With the 105.5 mph pitch from Tennessee’s Ben Joyce on Sunday, Joyce now has the top spot on D1 Baseball’s Heat Sheet by a fair margin. The next two behind Joyce are Iowa’s Brody Brechet at 101 mph and Gonzaga’s Will Kempner at 100 mph.
In addition to the ranking, D1 Baseball’s David Seifert also said that the “previous Heat Sheet record was held by Joe Boyle (Notre Dame) who pumped 102-octane in the Northwoods League during the summer of 2018.”
Breaking down the fastest pitch in college baseball history is somewhat tough because of the massive scope it already covers. We could sit here and say that Joyce’s pitch is the fastest in Tennessee history, fastest in SEC history, fastest among all SEC players this year, fastest among all players this year – but at the end of the day, all of that is simply rounded-up with one sentence. Ben Joyce now has the fastest pitch in college baseball history.
And soon enough, he could be busting down Chapman’s door for the true spot of the fastest recorded pitch in history.
Ben Joyce is probably the most *interesting* player in the 2022 class. He threw 33 FB today. According to Yakkertech, 28 of those were over 103 mph.
Joyce has a 68% K% on the FB, averaging north of 99mph. 255 FB, 75 of them over 102mph.
📽️:@PitchingNinjapic.twitter.com/4WaxSglrtx
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) May 1, 2022
Do you think Ben Joyce will break the all-time fastest pitch this season and top the 106 mph mark?
The Tennessee redshirt junior hit 105 mph on three separate pitches against Auburn on Sunday. 🤔
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) May 2, 2022
