WATCH: Karen Weekly Postgame | Game 1 Box Score (PDF) | Game 2 Box Score (PDF) | Updated Season Stats (PDF)
MIAMI — The No. 16-ranked Tennessee softball team opened the 2022 campaign in winning fashion on Friday, taking victories over UNC Greensboro and Maryland by scores of 4-0 and 2-1, respectively, on the first day of FIU’s Felsberg Invitational.
Friday’s action marked the beginning of a new era for Tennessee softball, as Karen Weekly has taken charge of the program as head coach after serving 20 seasons as co-head coach. With two wins on Friday, Weekly notched her 950th and 951st victories as a head coach at Tennessee. Breaking a tie with her husband Ralph Weekly, Karen’s total trails only the legendary Pat Summitt (1,098) for the most wins by a head coach in UT athletic department history.
GAME 1 – No. 16 Tennessee 4, UNC Greensboro 0
Lady Vol ace Ashley Rogers was spectacular in her senior season debut, tossing a complete game, one-hit shutout as Tennessee knocked off UNC Greensboro 4-0 to begin the 2022 campaign. The Athens, Tennessee, native went seven innings and racked up nine strikeouts in the winning effort for the Big Orange.
Southern Conference preseason pitcher of the year Morgan Scott was dealt the loss for UNCG (0-1), throwing 6.1 innings with four earned runs, three strikeouts and a pair of walks. The Spartan ace held UT without a hit through the first four innings of the season opener.
Tennessee (1-0) took time to get the bats going but broke through with a run in the top of the fifth. Junior designated player Madison Webber notched UT’s first base hit of the season with a leadoff double to deep left center. Freshman Katie Taylor came on to pinch run, advanced to third on a passed ball and came home on classmate Lair Beautae’s sac fly to center to put the Lady Vols on top, 1-0.
As Rogers continued to tame the UNCG lineup, Tennessee gained some insurance in the seventh by way of the long ball. Super senior Ashley Morgan launched a leadoff solo homer to right center before Ivy Davis doubled the Lady Vol lead with a two-run bomb to left center, plating herself and sophomore catcher Rylie West who had reached on a walk.
With a four-run cushion and three outs remaining, Rogers iced the game with a groundout and back-to-back swinging strikeouts to cement UT’s first victory of the afternoon.
GAME 2 – No. 16 Tennessee 2, Maryland 1
All-American center fielder Kiki Milloy drove in both runs for the Big Orange as Tennessee claimed a tight 2-1 victory over the Maryland Terrapins. The junior from Woodinville, Washington, went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI singles that made the difference in Friday’s second contest.
The graduate transfer duo of pitcher Erin Edmoundson and catcher Kelcy Leach both made their first starts for the Lady Vols against the Terps. Edmoundson was tabbed the winner in her Tennessee debut, going 5.1 innings with two hits allowed, one earned run, four strikeouts and one walk.
Maryland (0-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With runners on the corners, the Terrapins pulled off a double steal as Trinity Schlotterbeck slid in safely at home to open the scoring.
Milloy tied the game in the bottom of the third, lacing an RBI single through the right side that brought senior outfielder Kaitlin Parsons all the way home from second. Parsons led off the frame with an infield hit before swiping her first steal of the year to move into scoring position.
The Lady Vols went up 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth on another Milloy base knock that brought Beautae in from second. The freshman reached on an infield single, moved over to second on Parsons’ sac bunt and driven home when Milloy ripped a single to left center to give Tennessee the lead it would not relinquish.
With a runner on and one out in the top of the sixth, Rogers was called on to close the game and did so emphatically. She promptly recorded back-to-back looking strikeouts to escape the sixth before retiring the side in order in the seventh, adding two more backwards Ks in the final frame and earning her first save of the year.
TENNESSEE DEBUTS: Six Tennessee newcomers made their Lady Vol debuts, with Lair Beautae, Erin Edmoundson, McKenna Gibson, Kelcy Leach, Zaida Puni and Katie Taylor seeing their first action for the Big Orange on Friday.
UP NEXT: Tennessee will take on the Felsberg Invitational hosts Saturday afternoon, with first pitch against the FIU Panthers slotted for 12:30 p.m. ET at Felsberg Field. The tournament will then enter a seeded format and UT will play one more game Saturday afternoon, starting at either 3:00 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. with the opponent yet to be determined.
-UT Athletics
