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Andrew Fischer feeding off the fans in Knoxville Regional

Andrew Fischer has been an engine of Tennessee’s offense for months now. He leads the team in home runs and RBIs, along with a 62-game streak of reaching base dating back to his time at Ole Miss.

Nothing has changed as No. 14 Tennessee hosted an NCAA Tournament regional and attempts to defend its national title. Fischer has made his presence known in Tennessee’s first three games of the regional, each time getting the crowd louder than the last.

Whether it be his two-RBI double against Cincinnati or partaking in a third of Tennessee’s runs against Miami (OH), no one has mastered the Lindsey Nelson Crowd better than him this season. A crowd he cited as part of the reason he came to the Vols in the transfer portal last offseason.

“I played against this team last year, and the crowd is on top of you, it’s just the way the stadium is built, and they’re extremely loud. Whether there are 20,000 people or 5,000, it’s kind of hard to tell the difference with how loud this stadium historically get,” Fischer said. “I think that brings a huge home-field advantage. I mean, you go back to last year’s regional that they played in. The opposing pitcher couldn’t even hear his pitch comm in his ear.”

Fischer has been a vocal presence for the team on and off the field. He has been active on social media, telling fans that he needed Lindsey Nelson Stadium “rocking” for the Sunday night game against Wake Forest.

The crowd certainly showed out. By the first pitch, there was a sea of orange spread throughout Lindsey Nelson Stadium, and the electricity of a regional final was spreading through the air. About halfway through the bottom of the first, however, the stadium was met with a moderate shower. No lightning meant play on for the game, but a sizeable chunk of the stadium rushed to escape the rain.

The game mimicked the crowd, with Tennessee starting strong but then getting poured on right after. Fischer was partly responsible for one of the Vols’ two runs by the time the fifth inning came around, with an RBI single. The rain had passed a few innings prior, and the crowd had mostly returned. However, the Volunteers trailed 6-2 and were in desperate need of an offensive spark.

Who better than Andrew Fischer to reignite the game and the crowd with it? On two strikes and two outs, Fischer cracked the ball straight over pitcher Logan Lunceford’s head and cleared the center field wall for a two-run home run. The total distance on the ball was 430 feet, and the crowd ate up every inch.

Every single fan was on their feet, either screaming in joy or looking around in pure confusion at how hard he hit the ball.

Tennessee would tie the game the very next inning before both teams got caught in a standstill, unable to break the tie. As the game began to grow quiet, so did the crowd. By the ninth inning, the visiting section of Wake Forest fans felt just barely quieter than the home crowd.

Wake Forest walked off Tennessee in a hard-fought 7-6 contest that forced a do-or-die rematch on Monday night. In the postgame press conference, Fisher detailed his thoughts on the crowd and expectations for tomorrow.

“I don’t think our fans should need an invite to get excited. As players, we play with a ton of emotion. We work our tail off every single day to be the best version of ourselves.” Fischer said. “And even today, it was good, it was great. But I mean, the season on the line tomorrow, I’d expect it to almost double in noise. There needs to be a showing, a will, and a want from our crowd.”

Stated plain and simple, Fischer is certainly willing to give his all for Tennessee against Wake Forest. Only time will tell if the Rocky Top crowd will be there to back him up.

James Donovan
James Donovan
James Donovan is a senior at the University of Tennessee majoring in Sports Journalism. His experience in journalism goes beyond his education, as he has covered local high school and college sports for the Daily Gazette, a local newspaper in his hometown of Schenectady, New York, and personal work for university clubs covering sports on campus. Follow Donovan on X (Twitter) @JPDonovann.

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