COLUMBIA, S.C. - A gem on the mound from Andrew Lindsey led No. 9/18 Tennessee to a 5-0 shutout victory in Friday night's series opener at No. 9/13 South Carolina at Founders Park.

The junior right hander tossed a career-high 8.1 shutout innings and retired the final 17 batters he faced to earn a win for the second week in a row. Lindsey allowed just three hits, didn't issue any walks and struck out five on the night to help the Vols post their eighth shutout of the season.

Hunter Ensley also had a career day, going 4-for-5 to set a career best in hits while driving in three of UT's five runs.

The Huntingdon, Tennessee, native got the Vols on the board first with a nice piece of hitting in the top of the third, lining the first pitch he saw into right field for an RBI single to score Christian Scott from second.

UT extended its lead to 4-0 with three more runs in the fourth courtesy of a two-run homer by Dylan Dreiling and another RBI hit from Ensley.

It was Ensley who came up with the big hit yet again in the sixth, legging out an infield single with two outs to plate Tennessee's fifth and final run of the night.

The Vols' starting outfield of Ensley, Scott and Dreiling combined to go 7-for-11 with four runs scored and five RBIs while reaching base 11 times.

Cole Messina, Gavin Cases and Evan Stone had the only three hits of the night for the Gamecocks (37-16, 15-12 SEC). Starter Eli Jones was the losing pitcher after giving up four runs on seven hits in four innings before being pulled.

The Big Orange have now won five straight over South Carolina, tying the longest winning streak against the Gamecocks in program history. The last time UT won five in a row over USC was during a stretch from 1993-1994.

UP NEXT: Tennessee (37-17, 15-13 SEC) will wrap up its regular season slate on Saturday with a doubleheader to finish this weekend's series. Game one is slated to begin at 2 p.m. and game two will start 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. Both contests will be televised on the SEC Network.