KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 10th seeded Tennessee Lady Vols look to earn a berth in the Women’s College World Series when they travel to Athens this weekend to take on No. 7 seed Georgia in the NCAA Super Regional.
After sweeping its regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium last week, Tennessee (48-12) now turns its attention to the Bulldogs (46-11) for a best two-out-of-three series to determine which team advances to Oklahoma City. Game 1 of the series will take place on Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m. ET at Jack Turner Stadium.
For more news and notes:
2018 NCAA ATHENS SUPER REGIONAL
- Dates: Friday, May 25 – Sunday, May 27
- Venue: Jack Turner Stadium (Athens, Ga.)
- Tournament Bracket: Click Here
- Watch: ESPNU/ESPN
- Listen: WNML | UTSports.com
- Live Stats: UTSports.com
Media & Broadcast Info
Game 1 of the series will be broadcast live on ESPNU, with the second game airing on ESPN. Game 3 will also be on ESPN if necessary. Alex Loeb will be on the play-by-play call for each game, with Megan Willis alongside for color analysis.
Radio coverage for all Tennessee games will be carried on Sports Radio WNML (FM 99.1 or AM 990) and UTSports.com. Live stats will be available for every game on the Tennessee softball schedule page at UTSports.com.
Game Schedule
View the full NCAA Athens Super Regional schedule below:
Friday, May 18th:
Game 1 – 5:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday, May 19th:
Game 2 – 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, May 20th:
Game 3 (if necessary) – 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Scouting Report
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
No. 10 National Seed
The Lady Vols advancement to this weekend marks the 10th Super Regional appearance in program history. UT has now made it to a Super Regional in six of the past seven seasons, and seeks its eighth trip to the Women’s College World Series. Tennessee is 16-8 all-time in NCAA Super Regional games.
The Big Orange are traveling for a Super Regional for the fourth time. Tennessee went to Palo Alto to defeat Stanford in 2005 and then Ann Arbor to take down Michigan in 2010, but fell to Oklahoma in Norman in 2014.
The Lady Vols and Bulldogs faced off earlier this season in Knoxville. UT picked up a 1-0 win via a walkoff hit-by-pitch in the series’ opening game, but Georgia would claim the next two by scores of 9-1 and 8-0. Tennessee, however, maintains the all-time series lead against Georgia, 40-32.
UT will rely on offensive production from its top three hitters in Athens. Meghan Gregg, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, hit two home runs and recorded five total RBIs at the Knoxville Regional last weekend. Gregg leads the team with 18 long balls on the year, and she is also the NCAA active career leader in RBIs with 263. She is currently seven RBIs away from tying Auburn’s Kasey Cooper for the most all-time in the SEC.
Complimenting Gregg is Tennessee’s model of consistency, Aubrey Leach. Leach, who earned All-SEC honors for the first time of her career this season, currently leads the SEC in batting average (.447) and runs scored (79), while ranking second in hits (80) and on base percentage (.571). Her 79 runs scored are the most in a single season in program history.
Sophomore Chelsea Seggern has also added secondary hitting behind Gregg. Seggern’s seven home runs are the third most on the team, and her 66 RBIs rank seventh in the NCAA. She drove in four RBIs at the Knoxville Regional, including a two-run home run in a win over Monmouth.
Caylan Arnold leads the Lady Vols in the circle with a 2.11 ERA and a 26-4 record. Arnold had two complete-game wins last weekend, recording 15 combined strikeouts along the way. Her 222 strikeouts on the season are good for second in the SEC.
Georgia Bulldogs
No. 7 National Seed
The Bulldogs put together perhaps the biggest turnaround in college softball this season, posting a 46-11 record and finishing second in the SEC standings after not making the conference tournament a year ago. Georgia swept the Athens Regional last weekend, defeating Northwestern and Harvard twice each while outscoring opponents 27-9.
Cortni Emanuel leads Georgia offensively with a .437 batting average, good for second in the SEC behind Leach. Emmanuel also leads the conference in hits with 87.
As a team, Georgia leads the SEC in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.528) and hits (511). The Bulldogs have six players who are batting .300 or better.
Mary Wilson Avant comes into the weekend with 11 wins and a 1.74 ERA. Avant has pitched six complete games this season.
The Bulldogs last met the Lady Vols in the NCAA Tournament in 2012, when UT won two of three in the Super Regional at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to punch a ticket to the Women’s College World Series.
What’s Next?
The winner of the NCAA Athens Super Regional will advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City beginning Thursday, May 31.
-UT Athletics
