KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 10 Tennessee used a pair of five-run innings to rally for a 10-2 six-inning victory and claim a series sweep over the No. 22 LSU softball team Sunday in-front of a ESPN national television audience and season’s best 1,845 fans at Lee Stadium.
The Tigers (29-13, 11-6 SEC) started strong and grabbed a 2-0 advantage during the second inning. Allison Falcon ripped a 2-0 offering over the left field wall for the game’s first run and her second dinger of the season.
Ashley Applegate and Tammy Wray followed with a single and a walk to set the table. Both runners moved into scoring position on Morgan Russell‘s ground out.
Two batters later with two outs, A.J. Andrews deposited a timely RBI single to left field to plate Applegate and push LSU ahead by a 2-0 margin.
Rachele Fico opened the game with four scoreless frames before Tennessee (35-9, 16-6 SEC) was able to get its high-octane offense ignited.
Tori Lewis knocked a leadoff double to start the fifth inning. On a bunt attempt back to the pitching circle, Raven Chavanne reached on Fico throwing error which allowed Lewis to cross the plate to pull the Lady Vols back within 2-1.
Kat Dotson singled through the left side, Madison Shipman reached on a fielder’s choice and Lauren Gibson walked to fill the bases. On a 1-1 count, Shelby Burchell cranked a bases clearing double into the left centerfield gap to vault Tennessee to a 4-2 lead.
Melissa Brown tacked on a RBI single to chase Fico from the game. Fico dropped to 14-6 on the season and picked up two strikeouts against three walks. The junior right-hander was touched up for five runs, four earned, on eight hits.
“I thought the offense did a really good job and enough to win the ball game,” head coach Beth Torina said. “Our pitching and defense didn’t hold them today. Normally, those two things [pitching and defense] are our strength. Our offense fought hard for those two runs and executed their plan.”
The Lady Vols ripped off five runs during the sixth inning. Dotson and Shipman connected for a single and double off of Brittany Mack in relief. A fielding error by shortstop Juliana Santos on a Gibson chopper enabled both runners to score.
Whitney Hammond and Hannah Akamine added RBI hits for the final margin of 10-2. The top six hitters of the Tennessee lineup collected nine of the team’s 13 hits as the Lady Vols won for the 13th time in the last 16 meetings of the series versus LSU since 2008.
LSU returns to the friendly confines of Tiger Park to open up a five-game homestand Tuesday versus McNeese State. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. and season ticket holders are asked to use their original McNeese State tickets dated for April 18th for admission.
Live stats will be available inside the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net/live and fans can follow every pitch of LSU softball this season via live in-game updates on LSU softball’s social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsu_softball on Twitter.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch. Fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission and $3 for youth ages 3-12. Tickets also are available online at www.LSUtix.net.
As part of Brittany Mack‘s “Geaux Play” initiative, LSU softball is encouraging fans to share the gift of sports with special needs children. Fans can donate new or gently used sports equipment during the remaining LSU softball home games at Tiger Park. For more information, visit www.LSUsports.net/geauxplay.
All items collected will be given directly to the Miracle League Association and six local schools that Mack will visit during the season. At LSU’s series finale versus Ole Miss on April 22, Mack will invite all the children to the game as her special VIP guests for “Geaux Play” day at Tiger Park.
The LSU Athletics Ticket Office continues to urge season ticket holders to be cautious when separating their bar-coded tickets. The barcode must be attached to the ticket when arriving at the gate for scanning purposes upon entrance to Tiger Park. If the barcode detaches, season ticket holders must stop by the LSU Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Athletics/Administration Building for a reprint of their tickets.