One of Tennessee baseball's top-produced MLB players under Tony Vitello is having his season come to an early end.

Flame-throwing relief pitcher Ben Joyce underwent season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, the Angels announced.

He is expected to miss the remainder of the season with the Los Angeles.

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Joyce, a right-handed piece out of the Angels' bullpen, has already made a name for himself in the MLB. He's known as one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the game, clocking well over 100 miles per hour on his fastball.

In his third MLB season, Joyce appeared in five games before being shut down. In that time, he registered a 1-0 record and 6.23 ERA. He pitched just 4.1 innings while allowing five hits, four runs (three earned) and a home run. He struck out one batter and walked one.

In his second year, he proved to be a great piece. He appeared in 31 games while earning a 2.08 ERA and 2-0 record. He notched four saves in four opportunities during 34.2 innings of work. Just one batter was able to hit a home run off of him.

In his rookie year, he appeared in 12 games while pitching 10 innings. He earned a 5.40 ERA and 1-1 record. He also allowed just one home run that season.

In college, Joyce was a critical piece of Tennessee's 2022 pitching staff. He was an NCBWA Third-Team All-American while posting a 2.23 ERA and 2-1 record in 27 appearances and 32.1 innings pitched.

He forced opponents into only hitting .157 against him on a team that would go into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after claiming an SEC regular season and tournament title.

Joyce was also on the 2021 squad that made its way to the College World Series but redshirted as he recovered from an offseason surgery. In 2019-20, he played at Walters State CC.

He is a Knoxville native, attending Farragut High School, just west of downtown. He has a twin brother, Zach Joyce, who also pitched at Tennessee.

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