TAMPA, Fla. – There was no sunshine for the Lady Vols’ first day in Florida, but they did brighten the day fittingly with their all-orange uniform combination.
Unfortunately, despite the bright spot early on from the uniforms and a win over FIU, things ended gloomily.
Unable to string together more than a few hits in the top of the fourth inning, No. 12 UT was upset 10-1 in a quick five by UCF (10-2), falling to its first unranked team in preseason play since 2018 when it fell to FAU 3-2 in Clearwater, Fla.
After holding on to a 1-0 lead through 2.5 innings, UCF belted a nine-run half in the bottom of the third to keep things out of reach for Tennessee.
In a late effort, junior first baseman Ashley Morgan recorded a one-out double to spark the offense. Freshman Amanda Curran stepped up and blasted a two-out RBI single to bring in Amanda Fox, who pinch ran for Morgan. The momentum was short-lived and the Lady Vols could not get two more runs in time to prevent the early ending.
Lefty Callie Turner was credited with her second loss of the season giving up four earned runs and three walks, while fanning three batters.
Up Next
The Lady Vols continue their Tampa adventures on Saturday with a 9:30 a.m. (ET) rematch against UCF before taking on host-team USF at 2 p.m.
Tennessee 9, FIU 1
The Lady Vols kicked off the USF Invitational with a decisive run-rule win over the Panthers after gradually building offensive momentum to balance out a solid effort in the circle by redshirt sophomore Samantha Bender.
Led by senior Chelsea Seggern’s perfect outing at the plate Tennessee picked up its second run-rule win of the season with a 9-1 showing in six frames. Seggern (4-for-4) bombed a two-run long shot through center in the bottom of the third, and a three-run dinger the following inning, to give the Lady Vols an 8-1 lead.
The Thrall, Texas, native recorded seven RBI in the outing, tied for sixth in program history in a single game. Stepping into second base for the first time this season, Seggern also found the plate twice.
To open their third-ever meeting with the Panthers, the Lady Vols got some quick production from the top of its lineup with junior Amanda Ayala drawing a lead-off walk and then Seggern getting her home on an RBI double to jump ahead 1-0.
Seggern punctuated the day with the walk-off RBI single with loaded bases to bring in senior Treasuary Poindexter from the hot corner.
Bender picked up her second win of the year in the circle behind three strikeouts, one run and one walk in 4.2 innings of work.
-UT Athletics
