Dylan Loy of Pigeon Forge warms up on Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Farragut, Tenn. (Photo by Charles Mays Media)
BY DAVE LINK
Dylan Loy has some unfinished business to take care of when Pigeon Forge’s 2023 baseball season rolls around.
Two straight runner-up finishes in the Class AA state tournament didn’t sit well with the Tigers’ left-handed pitcher and first baseman.
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Pigeon Forge (40-4) lost this year’s championship game, 10-3, to Watertown – a year after falling 14-8 to Gibbs in the 2021 final.
“We had a great season, one of the best in Pigeon Forge history,” said Loy, who repeats as the 5Star Preps Pitcher of the Year. “But unfortunately, we just came up one game short, which has been hard because two years in a row, the second one always hurts more.”
In his only pitching appearance at state this year, Loy threw 4 and two-thirds inning of the second game, an 8-5 victory over Forrest. He gave up one hit, no runs, struck out 10, and walked one.
Forrest got a good dose of what Loy’s opposing hitters have been seeing for two high school seasons.
BIG-TIME STATS, HONORS
After his freshman season was cancelled due to coronavirus, Loy had a breakout sophomore season, posting a 13-1 record with an 0.42 ERA and 164 strikeouts.
The Tennessee commitment went on a nutrition and strength-gaining kick in the offseason, adding about 25 pounds to his playing weight of 145 as a sophomore.
Like his new-look frame, Loy’s pitching numbers were impressive during his junior year – as were his hitting numbers.
In 59 and two-thirds innings, Loy (12-1) struck out 126, walked 20, and gave up four earned runs for a 0.587 ERA. He had two saves, and opponents hit .125 against Loy.
At the plate, Loy hit .422 with 12 doubles and had 34 RBIs, walked 20 times, and scored 49 runs. He only struck out five times and had 17 stolen bases.
Loy said his first two seasons of high school pitching were “about the same.”
“This year, I was bigger, stronger, so I focused more on commanding the fastball with more velo than last year,” Loy said. “And then last year, since my freshman year got cancelled, it was more like testing the waters for high school ball.”
Loy was a finalist for a 2022 Mr. Baseball award presented by the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association, an award he won a year ago.
He’s also a 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee.
MOVING FORWARD
Loy is currently playing travel baseball for a program based out of Warner-Robins, Georgia, called Five Star National Burress, which is coached by Andy Burress.
The team met on July 6 for the weeklong WWBA 17-under Nationals at the East Cobb Complex in Marietta, Georgia.
Loy said he’s pitched four games for his travel team this summer and will only pitch a couple more games.
But there’s plenty of work to be done the rest of the summer and fall.
“I need to get bigger and stronger and faster,” Loy said, “and with pitches, I’m trying to work on my changeup more, and there’s a couple of twists and stuff with fastballs and curveballs to try to make them even better than they were.”
It will take that kind of work for Loy to be an impact player at Tennessee, which spent much of the 2022 season ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Loy is grateful for the opportunity at UT and wants to take advantage. He committed in May of 2020.
“Oh, it’s super awesome,” he said, “just to see how well they did and how they handled themselves and everything. It’s just like a fiery program. I can’t wait to get there.”