KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of grand slams from Sophia Nugent and Zaida Puni catapulted the No. 8 Lady Vols to an 11-0 run-rule win over Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
It is the first time since April 16, 2019, that Tennessee has hit two grand slams in the same game.
Tennessee (18-4) was perfect during its invitational – going 4-0 against Ohio State, Missouri State and South Dakota.
Already leading 2-0 in the bottom of the third, UT loaded the bases for Nugent who hit a pinch-hit grand slam to center field to break the game open. The home run was her fourth of the season and marked her first grand slam as a Lady Vol.
Tennessee tacked on another run in the fourth thanks to a Laura Mealer double before Puni walked it off in the fifth with a grand slam.
Puni finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored, four RBIs and a walk. Graduate Kiki Milloy was 2-for-2, scoring three times and walking twice.
Laura Mealer continued her hot streak with a 1-for-2 day, scoring once, driving in a run and drawing a walk.
McKenna Gibson, Taylor Pannell, and Giulia Koutsoyanopulos all finished with a hit against the Buckeyes, while Gibson also drove in a run.
Sophomore Karlyn Pickens got the start in the circle and tossed another gem as she picked up her sixth shutout of the season and pitched a seventh complete game. The righty scattered three hits with five strikeouts and did not allow a free pass.
She is now 9-2 on the year.
Ohio State (10-6) started Emily Ruck and let her go three innings before changing to Lexi Paulsen in the circle for the game’s final 1.1 frames. Ruck surrendered six runs on six hits, walked four and struck out two in her outing. She suffered the loss and is 2-1 this season.
Paulsen allowed five runs on three hits and walked two before giving up Puni’s run-rule walk-off grand slam.
Tegan Cortelletti, Jasmyn Burns and Kaitlyn Farley had OSU’s three hits.
STAT OF THE DAY
Tennessee has now won 10 consecutive games and has shut out its opponents over the last 24 innings.
UP NEXT
Tennessee flies to Washington, D.C., on Monday morning for a Monday night showdown with Howard at 5 p.m. ET. Fans can listen to Hunter King call the action live on AM990.
