Tennessee Baseball Announces Starting Pitcher for SEC Tournament Opener

The Tennessee Volunteers have been on a roll after securing multiple series to end the season, and the Vols are now on their way to compete for the chance at winning another SEC tournament championship this decade. The Vols will kickstart their tournament with one of the more important games of their season up to this point, as they will be taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday.

The Vols are the No. 10 seed, while the Gamecocks are the No. 15 seed, which means the Vols will be entering this game as the favorites, while the Gamecocks will be entering this game with the hopes of getting a first-round upset.

Who The Tennessee Volunteers Will Pitch to Open The Tournament

Tennessee’s Cam Appenzeller on the mound during Tennessee baseball’s Orange & White scrimmage at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on November 9, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the biggest questions before each tournament game is "who will be pitching," as this is unlike the normal weekend series that the Vols are used to. This means the Vols will not be pitching one of their usual starters as the starter in this one, and instead will give the ball to one of their better pitchers, and one of the front-runners to become a starter for next season. That player is Cam Appenzeller.

Appenzeller is entering this game with a 4.84 ERA, while having a 5-1 Win-Loss record. He is also one of the better pitchers when it comes to strikeouts on the team, as he has averaged more than a strikeout per inning. In 48 innings pitched this season, the Vols pitcher has struck out 54 batters, while only allowing 40 hits. It is also worth mentioning that the talented prospect has only given up five home runs all season, meaning when he gets hit, he usually isn't letting balls go out of the park.

This will be a bit of a new taste for the pitcher; she has appeared in 17 games this season, but only one of the games has been as a starter. Appenzeller has been one of the players used in a multi-inning role rather than just playing a closer-type role for the Vols. This will be his biggest opportunity to earn more of a role with the Vols, as he will be asked to help the Vols make it out of the first round against the Gamecocks, who the Vols have yet to face at all this season.

The game will begin on Tuesday evening when the Vols play against the Gamecocks at 5:30 PM EST. The winner of this game will play against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Wednesday.

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