KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 9 Tennessee hits the road to close out the regular season with a trip to College Station, Texas to take on No. 6 Texas A&M this Friday–Sunday at the Aggie Softball Complex.
Media & Broadcast Info
The entire series will be streamed online on SEC Network +/WatchESPN with Matt Simon (PxP) and Casey Richardson (Analyst) on the call. Friday’s game will be part of the SEC Network’s “Bases Loaded” coverage as well, with whip around coverage of all games involving SEC teams.
Radio coverage for the entire series will be available on Sports Radio WNML (FM 99.1/AM 990) and UTSports.com. Live stats will be available on the softball schedule page at UTSports.com HERE.
View the full series schedule below:
Friday
Game 1 | 7 p.m. ET | SEC Network +/SEC Network “Bases Loaded” | WNML (AM 990)/UTSports.com
Saturday
Game 2 | 2 p.m. ET | SEC Network +/WatchESPN | WNML (AM 990)/UTSports.com
Sunday
Game 3 | 1 p.m. ET | SEC Network +/WatchESPN | WNML (FM 99.1 & AM 990)/UTSports.com
Need to Know
The Vols will be facing their second straight top-10 opponent in the Aggies this weekend after hosting top-ranked Florida last week. Tennessee is 4-2 against teams ranked in the top-10 this season with wins over No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 9 Alabama (two) and No. 1 Florida.
Weekend Lookback
The Big Orange dropped their first series since the middle of March last week after losing two of three to No. 1 Florida. The Vols were shut out in the first two games of the series before winning the series finale, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon. Megan Geer’s grand slam in the fifth inning provided all the offense UT would need as Caylan Arnold was phenomenal in the circle, tossing five scoring innings in relief to earn her 19th win of the season.
Geer is the Queen of Clutch
Since joining the program as a freshman in 2014, Megan Geer has been one of the most consistent and clutch performers for the Volunteers. This season has been no different as the senior has four game-winning home runs for UT, including a grand slam in Sunday’s 5-1 win over the top-ranked Gators. Geer also has game-winning homers against South Carolina, Ole Miss and NC State this season.
Giant Killer
Vols’ freshman pitcher Caylan Arnold has shown a propensity for saving her best performances for the biggest games. The Maryville, Tenn., native has recorded eight victories over ranked teams this season. Among those victories are wins over Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, who have combined to win the past five Women’s College World Series titles. Arnold has the most wins (19) and strikeouts (134) by a UT freshman since Ellen Renfroe had 26 victories and 259 strikeouts in 2011.
Scouting Report
Texas A&M Aggies (41-7, 15-5 SEC)
The Aggies are 6-4 in their past 10 games and are coming off their first SEC series loss of the year after dropping two of three at Kentucky last week. Texas A&M currently sits in second in the SEC standings, one game ahead of the Vols.
A&M features a high-powered offense that ranks in the top-five of the SEC in 11 categories. Sophomore Riley Sartain leads the attack with a .382 batting average, 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, a .702 slugging percentage and a .468 on-base percentage. The pitching staff boasts three players with 11 or more wins, led by Samantha Show’s 17. All three also have ERA’s of 1.58 or lower.
UT’s All-Time Record vs. Texas A&M: 10-1
Tennessee has dominated the all-time series with Texas A&M, winning 10 of the 11 meetings between the two programs, including a series sweep in Knoxville last season. This will be UT’s second trip to College Station after taking two of three games from the Aggies there in 2014.
What’s Next?
Tennessee will host the SEC Tournament next week from Wednesday, May 10 through Saturday, May 13
The Vols have secured a first-round bye and will play their first game of the tournament on Thursday. The complete bracket will be available on Sunday night and will include game times and matchups. Stay locked to UTSports.com and follow @Vol_Softball on Twitter for that information.
-UT Athletics
