KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After a nearly four-hour game to start the day, Tennessee made up the time as it swiftly dismantled ETSU 10-2 in five innings on a walk-off walk to sweep day two of the Tennessee Invitational.
The Lady Vols recorded a season-high 15 hits to keep the Bucs (8-13) off balance on Saturday night.
In what became a rubber match, UT picked up the series win over ETSU after dropping a game in Johnson City, Tenn., on March 1, before recovering with a 10-1, run-rule win yesterday.
The Lady Vols move to 13-8 on the season as they head into their final two non-conference match-ups before SEC play begins next weekend at Texas A&M.
Leading 9-2 heading into the top of the fifth, UT turned its 16th double of the season with the bags full to prevent any runs and set up the early finish.
After loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth, junior Ashley Morgan (0-for-1) drew the walk on a full count to bring in freshman Kiki Milloy from the hot corner.
The Lady Vols offense pounced immediately as it rattled off four quick runs in the bottom of the first behind five consecutive hits at the top of the order.
UT’s first three batters, Chelsea Seggern, Amanda Ayala and Ally Shipman went 6-for-6 collectively through the opening two innings at the plate and accounted for six of the first seven runs.
Seggern (3-for-4) lit up the night with three consecutive extra-base hits, raking a pair of doubles to tie a single game career high and her first triple of the season to set the table for Ayala (3-for-3) and Shipman (3-for-3).
Six different Lady Vols recorded hits, while three different players record two RBIs each.
Samantha Bender (2-0) picked up back-to-back wins today in the circle after coming in to relieve Callie Turner who started against ETSU. In 3.0 innings of work Bender gave up just three hits.
Next Up
Tennessee finishes off its weekend with a 12 p.m. ET rematch with Stanford for the tournament title. The game will be streamed live on SECN+.
-UT Athletics
