KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a 14-10 conference record, the Tennessee softball team has earned the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday in Columbia, Mo.
The Lady Vols (44-11 overall) ended the regular season by winning four of their last five games to climb into fourth place in the SEC standings. UT will face the winner of 5th-seeded LSU and 12th-seeded Ole Miss in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, May 10, at 4 p.m.
With a 47-8 overall record and 20-4 mark in conference games, Florida enters as the tournament’s top seed. The Gators and Lady Vols have not met in 2018, the first time the two programs did not play one another in the regular season since 2015. Georgia (43-10, 16-8 SEC) and South Carolina (43-13, 15-9 SEC) make up the No. 2 and No. 3 seed, respectively.
UT will try to capture its third SEC Championship in program history, with the other titles coming in 2006 and 2011. Tennessee will rely on a balanced effort in Columbia, led offensively by its top three hitters. Junior Aubrey Leach currently leads the SEC in runs scored (72) while ranking second in batting average (.439), hits (72) and on base percentage (.568). Senior Meghan Gregg (66) and Chelsea Seggern (62) rank third and fourth in the nation in RBI’s.
In the circle, Caylan Arnold looks to continue her sensational sophomore campaign. Arnold went 23-4 in the regular season with a 2.13 ERA and 203 total strikeouts. Junior Matty Moss added 17 wins of her own, while putting up a 2.30 ERA and 111 punchouts.
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