Tennessee head football coach Josh Heupel spoke after Tennessee’s Chevrolet Orange and White Spring Game Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 17th-ranked Tennessee softball team took down No. 21 Georgia Friday night at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium, winning the series’ opener, 3-1.

Tennessee (34-7, 7-6 SEC) received another excellent performance in the circle from junior Ashley Rogers as she tossed her 17th complete game of the season and picked up win No. 20 on the year. The Athens, Tennessee, native surrendered just a single run on five hits, while walking none and striking out six.

At the plate, Ashley Morgan went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, a run scored and a solo home run in the second inning.

Georgia (28-13, 6-10 SEC) struck first in the game, pushing across one run in the first inning. The Bulldogs’ Savana Sikes led off with a single to left and was followed by Sydney Kuma who singled to right, which advanced Sikes to third.

A passed ball to the next batter allowed Sikes to score and give Georgia an early one-run lead with nobody out.

Rogers was able to pitch her way out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a pop out, limiting the damage and holding the Bulldogs to one run.

In the second, Morgan hit back for the Lady Vols as she smashed a solo homer over the right field wall. Coming into the game, Morgan had never gotten a hit off of UGA starting pitcher Mary Wilson Avant, but ended that streak with the game-tying home run.

After a quiet third and fourth innings, UT took the lead in the fifth thanks to an Ally Shipman triple and another big hit from Morgan.

With two away in the inning and Chelsea Seggern standing on first after drawing a walk, Shipman launched a ball into deep center field which sent the center fielder leaping into the air to catch. The center fielder was unable to come down with the grab as Seggern raced around the bases to score Tennessee’s second run of the game.

Shipman pulled into third on the play to set up Morgan who delivered another key hit against Avant. Morgan roped a double into left field, scoring Shipman from third and giving UT its final margin of victory at 3-1.

For UGA, Avant tossed six innings, allowing three runs on five hits. The graduate senior struck out six and walked four as she suffered the loss and drops to 15-6 on the year.

UP NEXT
Tennessee and Georgia are slated to play game two of the series at 2 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The game can also be seen on ESPN2.

Box Score | Overall Stats | SEC Stats 

-UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Five spring weeks of implementing a fast, up-tempo and fun culture under first-year head coach Josh Heupel culminates at 4 p.m. ET Saturday as Tennessee football hosts the Chevrolet Orange & White Game in Neyland Stadium. For complete game day information, visit utsports.com/gameday.

“It’s an opportunity for our team in a real, live situation to go earn trust from their teammates and their coaching staff,” Heupel said. “I’m excited that we get to have the state of Tennessee and Vol Nation here inside of this stadium. It’s going to be a great day, and I look forward to seeing everyone there.”

On The Air
Saturday’s Orange & White Game will be carried live on SEC Network+ with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Mike Golic Jr. (analyst) calling the action. Fans can also listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1). Live streaming is available on utsports.com and the UT Athletics app. The Vol Network goes live at 4 p.m. with Bob Kesling handling play-by-play duties.

Fan Information
Admission is free and gates to Neyland Stadium open at 2:30 p.m. The main bowl of Neyland Stadium will be general admission seating utilizing every other row. Face coverings will be required at entry and during movement through the stadium. Normal game day policies will be in effect, including the clear bag policy. The first 5,000 fans to enter gates 10 and 21 will receive free sunglasses courtesy of Coca-Cola. Fans that take a photo with the sunglasses and share on social media with #GBO will be entered to win a year’s supply of Coca-Cola. Visit utsports.com/gameday for more information.

Parking
Free parking areas open at 10 a.m. For more information on game day parking, click here. View a PDF parking map here (PDF).

Game Format
Offense will wear orange jerseys and defense will wear white jerseys. Normal game scoring will apply with offense alternating possessions for Orange and White. The first half will be timed normally with two 15-minute quarters. There will be a 10-minute halftime before third and fourth quarters that feature a running clock.

Vol Village
Tennessee’s family-friendly pregame tailgate at Vol Village will open at 12:30 p.m. in Lot 9 (directly west of Neyland Stadium) and will feature music provided by VFL Sterling Henton, photo opportunities, Smokey, food vendors, giveaways and other activities.

Season Tickets
Season tickets for the centennial celebration of Neyland Stadium and the start of the Heupel era are on sale now at AllVols.com.  Season tickets start as low as $300, with the Vol Pass and payment plan options offered. Fans interested in season tickets can schedule an appointment time to speak with a representative on the day of the spring game here.

-UT Athletics