Tony Vitello answers question about Tennessee pitching rotation

Tennessee will open play at the 2023 College World Series on Saturday, facing LSU in the night game. The Tennessee pitching rotation is likely to be similar to the rest of the season, though coach Tony Vitello hadn’t fully decided yet when meeting with the media in Omaha.

Vitello explained his thought process.

“We’ve just kind of gone with our routine,” Vitello said. “I think one time everyone went crazy because I got asked in our local media setup similar to this and I said, ‘Well, we’re about to practice, and then we’ll finalize it.’

“Anytime we’ve done that, I don’t like saying something and then — there’s no tomfoolery or anything like that, but we’ve rolled with what really has got us to this point with Andrew Lindsey first and (Chase) Dollander second and (Drew) Beam third.”

That rotation would put Tennessee’s best arms in position to carry the team through the early rounds in the double-elimination format at the College World Series in Omaha. And they’ll need them against a deadly LSU lineup.

Lindsey is likely to get the ball against the Tigers as the first option in Tennessee’s pitching rotation. He sports a 3-3 record with a 2.79 ERA, having struck out 69 batters while walking 18 in 67.2 innings of action.

He faced LSU during the regular season back in late March. LSU won 6-4, with Lindsey working 4.2 innings in relief and allowing just one run on five hits.

The Tennessee pitching rotation has shifted around since then, with that day’s starter, Chase Burns, working out of the bullpen now.

He’ll continue to anchor the pen for the Volunteers at the College World Series. Burns has a 4-3 record with a 4.64 ERA, striking out 105 while walking just 22.

“Burnsy has been incredible out of the bullpen with his stuff and ability to get outs, but he has kind of changed our team’s mentality a little bit too with the emotion he pitches with and having fun out there again as an athlete, but also he gives our guys confidence that the back end of the game is one that we feel like we can win each time we go out,” Vitello said.

Dollander, the likely Game 2 starter in the Tennessee pitching rotation, has a 7-6 record with a 4.50 ERA, while Beam has a 9-4 record with a 3.78 ERA.

Tennessee and LSU will meet at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN.