University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Baseball Countdown: 19 Days
January 25, 2015 | Baseball
2015 Schedule
Purchase Tickets
Baseball Time in Tennessee is just 19 days away!
Throughout January and February, UTSports.com will count down the days leading up to the start of the Vols' 2015 campaign (Feb. 13) with a look back at the many players who donned each jersey No. 30 through No. 1.
After opening last season at home, the Vols will travel to Miami, Fla., this year to face Florida International for a three-game series (Feb. 13-15). The team will return home to take on Tennessee Tech on Wednesday, Feb. 18 and Rutgers for four games (Feb. 20-22) during Tennessee's home opener weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, including a doubleheader against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Feb. 21. The Orange & White will later host long-time SEC foe Georgia (March 20-22) for the program's first home conference opponent series in March. Additionally, Missouri (April 9-11), South Carolina (April 24-26), Texas A&M (May 1-3) and Mississippi State (May 15-17) will make trips to Rocky Top this year.
On the season, the Volunteers, led by Head Coach Dave Serrano and his staff, are scheduled to play 27 of their 55 regular season games against nine 2014 NCAA postseason participants, including College World Series squads Vanderbilt, UC Irvine and Ole Miss.
In total, 28 Vols have worn the Orange and White No. 19 and senior Peter Lenstrohm returns to claim the jersey in 2015.
Today, we take a look back at one of the all-time greats to ever toe the rubber at Lindsey Nelson Stadium and current member of the Kansas City Royals, Luke Hochevar.
THE PAST...#19 Luke Hochevar
2003-05 | RHP | 6-5 | 215 lbs. | R/R | Fowler, Colo.
Hochevar completed his three-year career as one of Tennessee's all-time most-decorated players. The right-hander posted a 15-3 record with a 2.26 ERA while leading the Vols to the 2005 College World Series and winning the Roger Clemens Award as the nation's best collegiate pitcher during his junior season. During UT's postseason run, Hochevar was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 40th overall pick in the MLB draft.
His 15 victories tied for the NCAA lead that season and also tied for first in UT's single-season record book. A consensus first-team All-America honoree (Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, Sports Weekly, NCBWA), Hochevar was also a finalist for the 2005 Golden Spikes and Brooks Wallace awards.
The SEC Pitcher of the Year's 154 strikeouts in 2005 set a new single-season record for a UT pitcher. A pair of injuries cut short his sophomore campaign, during which he fashioned a 4-2 record and a 2.86 ERA. He won six games as a freshman in 2003 and owns a final career record of 25-10 with a 3.05 ERA.
When Hochevar left the mound for the final time as a Vol (fittingly, in Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium), he ranked ninth in career ERA, tied for 10th in games started (33), fourth in innings pitched (280.1) and second in strikeouts (287).
In the summer of 2004, Hochevar joined the USA Baseball National Team and notched a win in the gold medal game of the FISU II World University Baseball Championship against Japan. During his summer stint with the American squad, he posted a 2.73 ERA in 33.0 innings with 38 strikeouts and 11 walks.
Hochevar was drafted 40th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 but did not sign. The Kansas City Royals then made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft after he spent that spring playing independent ball with the Fort Worth Cats.
Hochever made his Royals' debut on Sept. 8, 2007 at the age of 23. Hochever, who started for the team from 2008-12 and successfully moved into a bullpen role in 2013. After missing the entire 2014 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the VFL recently agreed to a two-year contract extension with Kansas City, securing his place with the Royals' staff through 2016.
NOTES ON HOCHEVAR
- Last UT pitcher to throw a 1-hitter (at Auburn on 3/18/2005)
- Brother Dylan played one season at Tennessee in 2009
- Father played professional basketball with the Denver Nuggets in 1979
THE PRESENT...#19 Peter Lenstrohm
2014-Present | RHP | 6-2 | 180 lbs. | R/R | Paradise Valley, Ariz.
Peter Lenstrohm enters his second year on Rocky Top, following two years at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz. In 2014, Lenstrohm made 24 appearances, including two starts, for the Vols and went 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA. Last summer, he also went 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in 17 appearances for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League, ending his summer campaign with an 8.0-scoreless inning streak from July 10-21, 2014.
The senior right-hander posted a combined record of 13-3 with the Yavapai Roughriders, leading them to the playoffs in 2012-13. A Perfect Game Top 200 Junior College Prospect, Lenstrohm posted a 2.72 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 13 appearances last season. He finished his freshman campaign with an 8-1 record and a 3.70 ERA over 90.0 innings of work.
Lenstrohm graduated from Chaparral High School in 2011. He tallied a 1.17 ERA with 68 strikeouts over 55 innings as a senior, earning first team all-region and second team all-state honors. Behind the righty, the Firebirds went 24-9 en route to an Arizona State Championship in 2011.
NOTES ON LENSTROHM
- Full name is Peter George Lenstrohm
- Was named Pitcher of the Year as a senior at Chaparral High School
- Majoring in psychology
