#11 Lady Vols Defeat #19 Arizona State, 7-4

Thursday, February 8

Tempe, Ariz.

9:30 pm

University of Tennessee

2-0

#19/23 Arizona State

0-1

Tennessee

Arizona State

February 09, 2018 | Softball

Box Score

Box Score

Tempe, Ariz. -- Scarlet McSwain went 2-for-3 with three RBI's to lead No. 11/12 Tennessee to a 7-4 victory over No. 19/23 Arizona State on Thursday night at the Kajikawa Classic at Farrington Stadium.

The Lady Vols (2-0) scored three in the second inning, two in the third and added one in the fifth and seventh to pull away and hand the Sun Devils (0-1) their first loss in a season opener since 1995.

After going down on three consecutive strikeouts to begin the game, the UT offense got a spark in the second by way of a three-run McSwain homer on a 3-0 pitch.

Arizona State would answer in the bottom half of the inning, as a Maddi Hackbarth home run to center field fence cut the Tennessee lead to 3-2. Later in the frame, Jade Gortarez hit a single that brought in Kindra Hackbarth and knotted the score.

The Lady Vols came right back in the third inning. Senior CJ McClain got a rally started with a one-out double, and was able to advance to third thanks to a Meghan Gregg groundout. Chelsea Seggern then took a 0-2 pitch over the center field fence to give UT a two-run edge.

In the fifth inning, the Lady Vols landed a runner in scoring position with one out, as Aubrey Leach took a walk and then stole second. Gregg stepped up two batters later and hit a double to left field that scored Leach and increased the UT lead to 6-3.

The lead was cut into again, however, as Kwyn Cooper scored the Sun Devil's fourth run on a Maddi Hackbarth single in the bottom of the fifth.

Freshman Gabby Sprang was able to shut the door from there, allowing no runs over the final two innings. Sprang (1-0) earned her first win in the orange and white with four strikeouts in five innings of relief.

Tennessee put the finishing touches on in the top of the seventh as Leach scored on a throwing error.

Up Next: Tennessee takes on Western Michigan at 1:45 p.m. EST and San Jose State at 4:15 p.m. EST on Friday at the Tempe Sports Complex.