The distinctive moustache and the flowing hair serve as a lavish disguise for Kirby Connell the pitcher.
When the Tennessee left-hander finds himself in the midst of a key baseball moment, he suddenly becomes rather understated.
“For me, I feel like that’s when my heart rate is a lot lower,” he said.
Good for him.
And good for the Vols after Connell threw two shutout innings and earned the save for Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Missouri at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. He punctuated his performance with a strikeout, spinning around thereafter and pumping both fists in a vociferous display of emotion. He put a little more heartbeat into that moment.
Connell and two other relievers combined to throw five scoreless innings in support of starter Zander Sechrist and the three runs scored in the first inning. Regarding how the relievers were utilized, UT coach Tony Vitello mentioned fellow pitcher Aaron Combs and said jokingly: “I went over and hugged Combs and made sure I put my arms around him so that he couldn’t punch me or anything like that.”
Well, I assume Vitello was joking. Combs had replaced Connell on Friday and got the final out to save a 3-2 victory. A day later, the pitching roles were reversed and Connell replaced Combs after he had worked 1.1 innings.
In the end, it didn’t matter who pitched in what role – just that they all collaborated on a victory.
While he lacks much of a pulse, Connell apparently has layer upon layer of thick skin for his line of work. Saturday’s effort came six days after he was torched for five runs – including four homers – in 4.1 innings of relief at Kentucky. He hung in there long to earn the victory after Christian Moore and the hitters salvaged a 13-11 victory.
“My stuff is going to do what it’s going to do,” Connell said. “If it gets them out, it gets them out.”
In his fifth season at Tennessee, Connell has experienced enough games like Saturday to know that it was good for the younger players to go through it and feel the difference. It was beneficial for the veterans as well. The game served as a reminder of the postseason that lies ahead, when every pitch, at-bat and play will be magnified.
“You need reps at these one-run games,” Vitello said. “We haven’t had a lot of them. So, to pile up two right there, it’s stressful but now that it’s over with, it’s definitely a good experience.”
Moreover, it was a good chance for everyone to work on their own version of Connell – the composure, not the moustache.
“More times than not,” Vitello said, “it’s going to be can you take that deep breath and can you get rid of the tension and press on and do what you’ve got to do to win.”
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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters and the U.S. Basketball Writers Halls of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.