CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Fresh off a series sweep against Georgia State, the 15th-ranked Tennessee baseball team heads east for a midweek clash with the Charlotte 49ers on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The Vols enter Tuesday’s contest on a five-game win streak after going 4-0 last week with wins over Austin Peay and Georgia State.
BROADCAST INFO
Tuesday’s game will be streamed on CUSA.tv. Click HERE to watch.
Fans can also listen to the game on UTSports.com and the UT Gameday app, as John Wilkerson calls the action.
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: UT leads, 4-1
In Knoxville: UT leads, 4-1
In Charlotte: N/A
Neutral Sites: N/A
Last Meeting: W, 8-2 (Feb. 18, 2020)
The Vols and 49ers will meet for the second time in as many years after UT scored an 8-2 victory in Knoxville early last season. Tuesday will mark the first meeting between the two programs in Charlotte with the previous five contests all being played in Knoxville.
NOTABLE
Vols Dominating Non-Conference Competition
Tennessee has continued its impressive play in non-conference games this season with an 11-2 record entering Tuesday’s game. After a perfect 4-0 record last week, the Vols are now 52-9 against non-conference foes since the start of the 2019 season.
Midweek Win Streak
The Big Orange will look to extend their win streak in midweek games to 15 on Tuesday. UT is 31-5 in midweek contests since 2018 after a 5-3 victory over Austin Peay last Wednesday. Tennessee’s last midweek loss came on March 26, 2019 against ETSU.
Vols Ride Dominant Pitching to Undefeated Week
The Vols’ pitching staff was the driving force behind the team’s 4-0 record last week. UT posted a 1.25 ERA and allowed only five runs in its four games.
Tennessee’s pitching was especially impressive in its weekend series against Georgia State, holding the Panthers to only two runs over the three games while racking up 31 strikeouts and issuing just seven walks. The Vols posted their first shutout of the year in Sunday’s 7-0 win to complete the series sweep.
UT’s starting pitchers were especially impressive, allowing just one run and 12 hits in 16.2 innings of work. Will Heflin and Blade Tidwell both set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts on Friday and Saturday to earn victories.
Spence Continues Red Hot Start
Senior shortstop Liam Spence has been red hot at the plate to start this season. The Geelong, Australia, native leads the team with a .380 batting average, 15 runs, 19 hits, four doubles, 28 total bases, a .560 slugging % and a .483 on-base %.
Spence has a hit in six straight games and had multiple hits in all three of last weekend’s wins over Georgia Southern. He set a new career high with three runs scored in Sunday’s series finale and led the team with six runs last week.
Rucker Raking
Junior third baseman Jake Rucker is also coming off a big week, batting .471 with a team-leading eight hits, one home run, eight RBI and two stolen bases. The Greenbrier, Tennessee, native set a career high with four RBI in Sunday’s 7-0 win over Georgia State and is currently on a nine-game hitting streak. He has also reached base in 19 consecutive games dating back to last season.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Charlotte 49ers
- 2021 Record: 7-3 (0-0 C-USA)
- 2019 Postseason: N/A
- Head Coach: Robert Woodard (2nd season) // Was the pitching coach at North Carolina for three seasons prior to being hired as head coach at Charlotte in July of 2019.
- The 49ers were picked to finish fifth in Conference USA’s east division in the preseason coaches’ poll.
- Charlotte is off to a hot start to the year at the plate with a .304 team batting average that ranks 32nd nationally. Five players enter Tuesday’s game batting .353 or better, led by Craig Keuchel’s .405 average.
- The 49ers have also displayed some impressive power, ranking second in the country with 22 home runs through just 10 games this season.
- David McCabe leads the team with five homers while former Vol Austin Knight has four jacks and leads the team with 17 RBI.
- Charlotte has also gotten solid production from its pitching staff, which ranks 12th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings with 12.5. The 49ers also rank 30th in the nation with a 1.16 WHIP.
ON DECK
Tennessee returns home for its final non-conference series before the start of conference play. The Vols will host UNC Greensboro this weekend with Game 1 slated for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
-UT Athletics
