KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A solid night in the circle from sophomore Callie Turner and a momentum sealing grand slam from senior Ivy Davis pushed the No. 17 Tennessee softball team to a dominant, 9-3, victory over No. 21 Georgia on Saturday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
The win gave Tennessee (35-7, 8-6 SEC) its third consecutive SEC series win, while Georgia (28-14, 6-11 SEC) has dropped four of its six series’ in conference action.
In the circle, Turner was consistent, tossing six innings and giving up just three runs on five hits.
At the plate, junior Ally Shipman and freshman Madison Webber each recorded multiple hits.
Webber went 2-for-3 with a double and a pair of RBI, while Shipman went 2-for-4 with an RBI that arrived on a momentum shifting home run.
The nights turning point arrived off the bat of Davis who despite finishing just 1-for-2 with a walk, recorded four RBI’s on a fourth inning grand slam to put the Lady Vols out of Georgia’s reach.
The Bulldogs opened the evening’s scoring on a solo blast off the bat of Jayda Kearney in the top of the second inning to take an early, 1-0 lead.
In the Lady Vols ensuing turn at the dish, Madison Webber evened the score after scampering home from third on a wild pitch as the contest entered its middle stages.
After Georgia regained a one-run advantage, UT exploded for eight runs in the middle innings to take a massive seven-run lead heading into the fifth inning.
In the third, Shipman went yard over the fence in left center to knot things up at 2-2, before Webber roped a two RBI double to center that scored Davis and Kaylan Cole.
In the fourth, Kiki Milloy started the scoring with an RBI triple to deep center that scored Cailin Hannon to give the Lady Vols a 5-2 advantage.
Following Milloy, UT loaded the bases for Davis who demolished a 2-2 pitch over the scoreboard in left to put Tennessee up, 9-2, while shifting the momentum completely in favor of the Orange & White.
Georgia would add a late run, but Turner and sophomore Sam Bender would shut the door in the sixth and seventh innings to cement the night’s final score line.
LADY VOLS FINDING SATURDAY GROOVE
Saturday’s win marked the Lady Vols second consecutive victory in an SEC game not featuring junior Ashley Rogers as the Orange & White’s starting pitcher.
UT aims for its first SEC series sweep in Sunday’s series ending contest.
TURNER ON FIRE IN THE CIRCLE
In her last two outings, sophomore Callie Turner has given up just three runs on four hits in 12 total innings of work.
Last weekend she nearly no-hit South Carolina, holding them to just one hit in the Lady Vols, 11-0, run-rule victory over the Gamecocks.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols and Bulldogs will meet for the series finale on Sunday afternoon from Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Box Score | Overall Stats | SEC Stats | Series Stats | Postgame Presser
-UT Athletics
