PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – It was an anything but a lovely finish to Valentine’s Day for No. 12 Tennessee on Friday.
As the sunset at Campo de Softball Nancy Almaraz, so did UT’s hopes of finishing the day undefeated.
The Lady Vols (5-2) were met with a heartbreaking ending to a doubleheader, falling in five-innings to an unyielding No. 6 Texas Longhorns team 11-0.
Texas struck early with an eight-run opening frame to enact the run-rule. The Lady Vols were unable to chip away at all only recording one hit and getting on base three times. UT gave up three more runs across the second and third frames and were only unable to prevent Texas from scoring in the bottom of the fourth.
The defense struggled behind four errors as Kiki Milloy, who started in the circle, earned her first official loss of the season.
Next Up
Tennessee concludes its time at the Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Challenge with a first-ever match-up against Cal-Baptist at 1:30 p.m. (ET).
Tennessee 8, Utah 5
The Lady Vols played a little A-B-C ball to keep in step with an aggressive effort by the Utes (5-2), whose lead-off hitter Haley Denning stole a pair of bases after a first-pitch single to open things up. The Utes led 1-0 through 2.5 innings, before UT got its first hit in the bottom of the third.
Tennessee tied it up after Cailin Hannon (2-for-3) was hit by a pitch with loaded bases to bring in Kaitlin Parsons (1-for-2) who got on an errant throw.
UT took a one-run lead on an RBI single from Jenna Holcomb (2-for-3) to bring in Kaili Phillips (2-for-4), but it was short-lived. Denning pressured the Orange and White once again leading off the top of the fifth with a single and two more stolen bases. Denning was the first to cross the plate in a three-run half that gave the Utes a 4-2 lead.
Undeterred, however, the Lady Vols rattled off a five-run half to take the lead for the remainder of the game. Phillips doubled to bring in Chelsea Seggern (1-for-3) and Ashley Morgan (1-for-3) singled to get pinch runner Treasuary Poindexter across the plate. Following, freshman Kiki Milloy blasted a three-run shot, her lone hit of the contest, through centerfield to cap off scoring for the Lady Vols with an 8-4 lead.
The Utes added one more run and had the tying run on the bags after a pair of errors loaded the bases, but UT turned its second double-play of the day to prevent any further damage.
-UT Athletics
