KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two more dominant efforts in the circle and a number of timely hits propelled the No. 21 Tennessee softball team past Kennesaw State in Wednesday’s twin bill at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
After falling behind, 1-0, in game one Tennessee (23-5) scored 13 unanswered runs across the remainder of the doubleheader to send Kennesaw State (9-16) home with a pair of losses.
Game One Tennessee 9 Kennesaw State 1 F/6
A one-run complete game outing from sophomore Callie Turner was the story in the circle.
The Land O’Lakes, Florida native fanned four batters and gave up just the single run on four hits.
At the plate, senior Ivy Davis and sophomore Kiki Milloy combined to drive in seven of the Lady Vols nine runs, with Davis bringing around a season-high five runs, while Milloy brought around a pair.
Overall, the Orange & White tallied 13 hits in the run-rule victory.
After the Owls plated the game’s opening run in the top of the first, the Lady Vols exploded for a four-spot in the home half of the inning.
Ayala, Hannon and Milloy opened things up with back-to-back-to-back singles, with Milloy driving in Ayala to tie things up.
Two batters later, Ivy Davis roped a three-run shot over the wall in left field, giving UT an early 4-1 lead.
The next two innings were business as usual, before Tennessee posted its second crooked number of game one with a three-run fourth.
Milloy added her second RBI on a single to left, while Davis added her fourth and fifth RBIs on a smoked single up the middle to extend UT’s lead to 7-1.
The Lady Vols ended things in the sixth when Rylie West tripled to deep right center, bringing home Ashley Morgan to make it 8-1.
Two pitches later, West walked things off when she scampered home on a pass ball to improve UT to 22-5 with another game still to play.
Game Two Tennessee 4 Kennesaw State 0
A complete game shutout for junior Ashley Rogers led Tennessee to a victory in Game Two.
Rogers fanned 12 batters and conceded just a single hit in seven full innings of work. Eight of her 12 strikeouts came in the final 11 batters she faced to conclude the night.
Sophomore Madison Webber finished game two as the only player on either side to log multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI that drove in the fourth run to put the nail in the coffin.
The first five innings of game two could be described as nothing short of a pitcher’s duel with Rogers and Owls slinger Melanie Bennett going pitch-for-pitch.
Tennessee plated the only run in that five-inning span when Milloy ran home on a dropped third strike in the fourth inning.
In the home half of the sixth, the Orange & White added three insurance runs to take a 4-0 lead heading into the night’s final inning.
Senior Ashley Morgan started the inning off with a bomb to right center to double the Lady Vol lead at the time.
Ally Shipman and Webber followed Morgan’s homer with RBI’s of their own to further double UT’s lead heading into the seventh frame.
Rogers struck out the side to slam the door on Kennesaw State and cement the game two score line.
UP NEXT
The Lady Vols return to action this weekend with the Lady Vol Challenge on Saturday and Sunday. Tennessee will host Furman and Troy for six total games in two days at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
Game One PDF Box Score | Game Two PDF Box Score | Photo Gallery | Karen Weekly, Ashley Rogers and Kiki Milloy Postgame
-UT Athletics
