Tennessee to start sophomore RHP Andrew Lindsey against Charlotte, his old team

Right-hander Andrew Lindsey will get the baseball first for Tennessee on Friday evening, starting for the Vols when they face Charlotte in their opening game of the Clemson Regional. 

It will be a full-circle moment for Lindsey, the sophomore pitcher who played for Charlotte in 2021. First pitch for Tennessee (38-19) and Charlotte (34-26) is scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, ESPNU) in the start of NCAA Tournament play.

Clemson, the No. 4 overall seed in the 64-team field and the regional host, will play Lipscomb, the No. 4 seed in the regional, at 1 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN+. The winners and losers from Friday’s games will matchup on Saturday in the four-team bracket’s double-elimination format.

Sophomore left-hander Collin Kramer will get the start for Charlotte. He has 12 starts and 19 appearances with a 4.55 ERA over 61.1 innings pitched. He has 64 strikeouts and 34 walks while giving up 33 runs. 

Lindsey spent one season at Charlotte, going 6-2 in 12 starts while appearing in 20 games. He had a 4.89 ERA, giving up 44 earned runs over 81.0 innings pitched. He had 76 strikeouts, 29 walks and allowed 90 hits and had a 1.469 WHIP.

“There has been some time in there,” Tennessee coach Tony Vitello said of Lindsey earlier this week.

Vols have won each of Andrew Lindsey’s last five starts

The transfer connections between the two programs goes both ways. Austin Knight, Charlotte’s senior infielder, played two seasons at Tennessee before transferring to the 49ers. 

“Guys have swapped programs due to the portal and junior college, stuff like that,” Vitello said, noting that “everyone (at Tennessee) was a fan” of Knight. 

“But there has been some time,” Vitello said during his Tuesday press conference. “Not just between tenures, but also the start of this year and the end of this year. That just kind of shows you how much one team or one individual can change.”

Lindsey has a 2-2 record in six starts for Tennessee this season, but has made 18 appearances in total. He has a 2.54 ERA over 56.2 innings pitched, giving up 22 runs on 44 hits while striking out 54 and walking 16.

Tennessee has won each of Lindsey’s last five starts, beating Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina. Lindsey in those appearances has combined to pitch 31.1 innings, giving up just nine earned runs on 29 hits.  

Up Next: Tennessee vs. Charlotte, Friday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Knight in three seasons at Charlotte has a 2.82 batting average with 30 home runs and 41 doubles included in his 173 career hits. He has 135 RBI and 134 runs scored, with a .502 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage.

He  had a .152 batting average in 33 at-bats during his two seasons with the Vols. He appeared in 15 games in 2019 and played in 10 in 2020, before the season was cancelled by COVID. He was 5-for-33 at the plate, but had two home runs, seven RBI and 11 runs scored.

“There is maybe a little bit, something there,” Vitello said of the transfer storylines heading into the game. “But I think when ‘play ball’ is said across the country on Friday for all these games, these kids grow up. And they probably shouldn’t be worried about Omaha when they’re playing in a regional, because that’s a few weekends away, but that’s what everyone is going to get wrapped up in.”

This time of year, that’s the only storyline. Doing whatever is necessary to get to the College World Series. 

“And everyone is going to have the most energy in the dugout in the first inning and, again, that’s every team,” Vitello said. “And they’re going to be wrapped up in ‘how do we win?’ So storylines can be fun. I don’t know that there are that many in our regional. But they kind of go to the wayside for coaches and players once the games start.”