Tennessee baseball starts the 2025 season the same way they ended the 2024 season: with a win. The Vols opened the new year with a Friday matchup against Hofstra, and it was all Vols from the first pitch.
Along with the festivities and celebration of last year's national championship, Tennessee went on to beat Hofstra 15-0.
Liam Doyle, who transferred to Tennessee this past offseason, led the dominant performance, which is huge for Tennessee's revamped pitching staff this year.
Doyle pitched five innings and recorded 11 strikeouts while only allowing one hit. His success on the mound allowed the Tennessee bats to settle in after a long winter. As a result, the Vols spread out their scoring throughout the game.
Eight different Tennessee players finished the night with an RBI in the season opener. The Vols scored at least one run in every inning except for the fifth, including seven runs scored in the sixth inning to run-rule Hofstra.
Ole Miss transfer Andrew Fischer also welcomed himself to Rocky Top with an opening-day home run, and Louisville transfer Gavin Kilen finished the game with two extra-base hits and scored two runs.
Tony Vitello has mixed traditional recruiting and development with the transfer portal to put together his roster. That isn't uncommon in today's college sports environment, but Vitello has excelled at bringing in the right guys from the portal without relying solely on it.
His development of homegrown talent was also a big reason Tennessee won its first national championship in program history last year, and he could help lead the Vols to another trip to Omaha this year.
Freshmen Stone Lawless and Manny Marin both started inside the diamond. They showed some potential at the plate with a couple of runs batted in.
Now, Tennessee turns to Game Two of the series with Hofstra. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., and Sunday's matchup is scheduled for 11 a.m.