Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello confirmed to the media Saturday night that senior left-handed pitcher Zander Sechrist will start for the Vols on Sunday against Baylor.
“Zander [Sechrist] will start for us tomorrow,” Vitello said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Sechrist’s start will mark his first of the season and first weekend start of his four-year Tennessee career. Sechrist has primarily served as Tennessee’s midweek starter for the past two seasons while also making various appearances out of the bullpen.
In 2023, Sechrist made 23 appearances and started 12 games. The Buford, Georgia, native finished the year with a 0-1 record, 2.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 30.2 innings pitched. Sechrist gave up 27 hits, seven runs, seven earned runs, walked five batters and recorded 32 strikeouts.
“It’s awesome,” Tennessee left-fielder Dylan Dreiling said about Sechrist starting Sunday. “It’s really cool and fun playing behind guys that throw strikes because you’re not just gonna be there standing there. They’re going to make you work and that’s fun.”
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Behind Sechrist, Tennessee is yet to use sophomore Wichita State transfer RHP Nate Snead, who has the highest velocity on the team with his fastball. Tennessee can also turn to graduate Cal transfer Chris Stamos, freshman Matthew Dallas, or sophomore Andrew Behnke as top bullpen options if needed, as Stamos and Dallas threw less than 10 pitches each and Behnke is yet to appear this weekend.
Tennessee will be looking to leave Arlington above .500 on the season with a win over Baylor, as the Vols beat Texas Tech on Friday before falling to Oklahoma on Saturday.
First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Globe Life Field.
