KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols took care of business in their first of a seven-game homestand, downing Lipscomb 9-1 in five innings behind timely hitting and focused defense.
Heading into Wednesday being outscored 23-4 in first innings, Tennessee (10-7) closed the gap a bit recording four runs to get a comfortable lead that it would hold onto the remainder of the game.
After senior Chelsea Seggern (1-for-1) drew the lead-off walk, a string of multi-base hits sparked the Lady Vols for the rest of the evening. Junior Amanda Ayala (1-for-1) knocked a deep double to left field that fell just inside the line to put the pair into scoring positions and set the table.
Sophomore catcher Ally Shipman (1-for-2) belted a two-RBI triple into center field to bring in Seggern and Ayala before Kaili Phillips (1-for-3) punctuated the scoring with a two-run shot over the left field wall to give UT a 4-0 lead.
“I think the girls really bought into the game plan that we had for the first pitcher that we faced tonight,” said co-head coach Karen Weekly. “They went up there and just really trusted their swings and did some good damage.”
The following inning, freshman KK McCrary (1-for-2) doubled to bring in Seggern, who recorded a game-high three runs, and Jenna Holcomb (1-for-2), who finished with two on the night. McCrary and Shipman combined for six of the Lady Vols’ nine RBIs as UT kept its undefeated home streak on March 4 alive. Tennessee is 12-2 all-time on the day, and 10-0 in Knoxville.
In the bottom of the third, Seggern brought in freshman shortstop Josie Willingham (0-for-1) on an RBI single. Continued patience at the plate fell in favor of the Lady Vols, who recorded nine walks on Wednesday night. A pair of those walks turned into RBIs for McCrary and Shipman as the bases remained loaded in the bottom of the third frame.
Giving up just one hit through the first four innings, freshman Callie Turner was one out away from recording her first one-hit shutout before giving up two hits and a walk in the top of the fifth. The freshman picked up her seventh win of the season, throwing one strikeout in 5.0 innings.
“I liked the way our pitcher came out and threw a first-pitch strike, got the first batter early in the game,” Weekly said. “I thought she Callie really set the tone for our defense. I liked the way we executed the game plan in the first inning and then continued in the second inning.
“We didn’t settle for the four runs in the first, we continued in the second inning and put more runs on the board.”
Next Up
The Lady Vols continue their homestand with the Tennessee Invitational on March. 6-8. UT will host ETSU at 3 p.m. and Stanford at 5:30 p.m. on Friday before opening Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against Toledo in a round-robin format that will peg the top-finishing team against the team with the fewest wins later Saturday. Consolation and championship rounds will be played on Sunday, with the Lady Vols playing at 12:30 p.m., regardless of finish.
-UT Athletics
