By Stephen Mason
On a chilly October night at Covenant Health Park, Tennessee baseball rolled past the Lipscomb Bisons 21-8 in its second fall game. While the game was one-sided, it provided future stars for the Volunteers a chance to showcase their talent.
One freshman from the Lone Star State made himself known with an impressive two-way performance.
In the third inning, Cole Koeninger took over on the mound for the Vols. The Keller, Texas, native struggled at the start, walking the first two Bisons he faced.
“It was a little bit of a quick turnaround out in the bullpen. I had to get ready pretty quickly, but yeah, I was feeling good, but my command was a little bit scattered,” Koeninger said.
Settling in on the Mound
When he faced his third batter, Koeninger settled in and managed to get out of the inning without giving up any hits or runs. Koeninger pitched 2 1/3 innings for the Volunteers, finishing his outing with four strikeouts and four walks without allowing a hit or run.
“He was going to go out in the third when Parker (Detmers) got up to about 50 pitches; that kind of flipped the script a little bit where all of a sudden we have an inning to cover, so he didn’t get to go through his full maybe routine, which I think will be good for him because he’s going to be able to have to navigate through those things,” head coach Josh Elander said.
As a fellow Texan, Elander can relate to Koeninger’s high school playing experience and knows the freshman’s championship pedigree can translate to the collegiate level. Even as a freshman, Koeninger will have the opportunity to deliver for the Volunteers in big moments in the spring.
“He’s a competitor. I mean, he was a pitcher in a high school state championship game last year in Dell Diamond, where I grew up in Round Rock,” Elander said. “And again, he’s pitched in big moments and big games, so it’s never going to be a moment of him being too sped up or whatever it may be.”
Delivering at the Plate
After his outing on the mound, Koeninger had the opportunity to exercise his favorite part of his game: hitting. The fact that Elander and his staff were willing to give him appearances at the plate was a major factor in Koeninger’s decision to come to Tennessee.
“I really wanted to hit, to be honest with you. And they were allowing me to do that here, and a lot of the major league clubs wanted me to just pitch. So, it was a big thing for me to be able to hit here,” Koeninger said.
In three plate appearances, Koeninger was efficient with three hits, including two singles and a double with one RBI. Making his first plate appearance in the inning after pitching, the Texan felt very comfortable with the transition because it was something he did often in high school.
“So I did it my last two years of high school. I was starting and hitting, and I would even go in the field after I was done pitching,” Koeninger said. “It’s been an easy transition, but it’s definitely a lot of balancing pitching and then coming in to hit, but I like doing both.”
With plenty of other freshmen on the roster, friendly competition within the program pushes players to improve. Koeninger’s roommate, Sean Dunlap, who found success at the plate with a home run, has enjoyed the camaraderie.
“It’s super fun watching what he’s doing; we definitely build off each other, you know, like iron sharpens iron,” Dunlap said. “I mean, just competing with him, too, with everything, like the eating, too. We’re always like making sure we’re drinking water and everything, and he’s a great guy and fun to be with.”
As the Vols wrap up their fall season and prepare for the 2027 season starting Feb. 19 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, Koeninger seems settled in and poised to make an impact on both sides of the ball.
“I’ve loved it so far, loving Knoxville. The competition’s unreal, obviously getting to compete almost every day with these guys in a bunch of scrimmages, so it’s been really fun and I’m looking forward to keeping on going,” Koeninger said.