University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Softball Year In Review
July 26, 2001 | Softball
June 1, 2001
Coming off a frustrating 2000 season in which the Lady Vol softball team failed to reach the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time, head coach Jim Beitia retooled his lineup with 11 newcomers to help Tennessee turn things around. Despite several outstanding individual highlights over the course of the spring, the Orange and White found themselves saddled with an overall record of 24-35 and, at 9-20 in league play, a second straight fifth-place finish in the Eastern Division. Although UT's postseason fate was not decided until the final day of the regular season, the club missed out on the opportunity to compete for the SEC crown in Chattanooga.
The beginning of the 2001 campaign did not go according to plan for the Lady Vols, as the squad endured three straight shutouts in Tampa, Fla., over Feb. 2-4 at the Louisville Slugger Tournament hosted by South Florida. During setbacks to eventual national champion #3 Arizona, Hawaii and Florida Atlantic, Beitia's charges managed five hits in 61 at bats for a batting average of .082. The squad also struck out 29 times over the three contests in being out-scored, 16-0.
Four different pitchers saw time in the circle, with sophomore Stephanie Humphrey turning in the most effective outing. The righty carried a no-hitter into the fifth stanza against the Rainbow Wahine and struck out five hitters in going the distance versus UH. Junior Nicole Borg drew the starting assignment against the juggernaut Wildcats and surrendered nine hits and three home runs in her UT debut. Meanwhile, sophomore Nicole Murray walked eight and scattered a couple of hits in 4.2 innings versus Florida Atlantic, with freshman Leigh Ann Ellis coming on for relief duty during the 3-0 defeat to the Owls.
UT would break into the win column by picking up two victories in its six games at the Islander Classic, though the Orange also were blanked three times between Feb. 9-11. Both senior second baseman Melissa Radley (.368) and freshman outfielder Ellisha Humphrey (.333) batted over .300 in the Lone Star State. Stephanie Humphrey hurled complete games against Texas A&M-CC, Southwest Texas State and #16 Oregon State, picking up her first victory of the season with a two-hit, seven-strikeout gem versus the Islanders. The Knoxville native allowed three hits during UT's 2-0 setback to the SWT Bobcats and surrendered just a run to the nationally-ranked Beavers after the first frame in a 3-0 defeat.
Ellis carried a no-hitter into the fourth stanza of her first career start against SWT but did not receive a decision as the Bobcats rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 4-3 triumph. In that outing, the lefty fanned three and scattered four hits. Against #16 OSU, she entered the seventh frame mired in a 0-0 deadlock before a Beaver rally and Lady Vol fielding miscues eventually resulted in a loss. Borg earned her first win in the circle at UT by going the distance in her squad's 7-2 dismantling of TAMU-CC on Sunday afternoon, while junior Hannah Low became the first Lady Vol to smack a homer for her first career hit with a two-run job in the sixth.
Tennessee seemed to gain momentum the following weekend when it claimed the Triangle Classic in Raleigh, N.C., over Feb. 16-18. The Orange and White's tournament title can be traced directly to the performance of its pitching staff, which compiled a 0.54 ERA and registered four shutouts during the club's successful run. Borg earned Most Valuable Player honors with a pair of one-hit efforts against Rhode Island and North Carolina. The right-hander from Millbraw, Calif., was also named as the SEC's Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 19, becoming the first Tennessee player to receive accolades from the league office since third baseman Amanda Venable was tabbed as the Player of the Week in April, 1999. Fellow UT All-Tourney choice Stephanie Humphrey (2-0, 15 K, 2 SHO) claimed both of her starts, while Ellis' first collegiate win came in UT's 4-1 triumph over Virginia that sealed the championship.
After struggling during the Lady Vols' previous efforts at the Louisville Slugger Tournament and at the Islander Classic, the squad's offense began to show its potential. Five different starters batted over .300 at the Triangle Classic, keyed by second baseman Radley (.429), senior shortstop Annie Fletcher (.375) and senior center fielder Janette Koshell (.357). UT hammered out a combined 20 hits in victories over Illinois and Rhode Island and also slugged its first four homers of the campaign. Against the Rams, the Orange barely missed hitting for the HR cycle, as Koshell had a two-run shot, Roustan smashed a three-run dinger and Low bashed the mother of all home runs, a grand slam.
Journeying out to the West Coast, Tennessee had a rough go of it during its jaunt to the softball hotbed of California. Not only have there been numerous cases of electrical problems throughout the Golden State, the Lady Vols suffered an offensive outage of their own -- plating just three runs in six games. The squad received outstanding performances in the circle from the trio of Ellis (0-2, 0.00, 10 IP), Stephanie Humphrey (1-1, 0.00, 16.2 IP, 12 K) and Borg (0-2, 1.17, 12 IP), but the Lady Vols hit only .174 (26-for-149) and committed 15 errors.
The highlight of the trip for the Knoxville clan came in game two of a twinbill against St. Mary's, as Humphrey shackled the Gaels on one hit in a 2-0 win. Low blasted a solo homer in the sixth and senior Koshell tripled to begin the seventh before coming home on an RBI single by classmate Radley. On a down note, UT endured three straight 1-0 losses to start the trip, as Santa Clara took two games on Feb. 21 and SMC took the opener the following afternoon.
Beitia and the Lady Vols picked up their second tournament title of 2001 by virtue of terrible field conditions that canceled March 4th's action at the Georgia Southern Eagle Classic in Statesboro, Ga. Although Tennessee and Florida had identical 2-0 records, the Lady Vols were named as the winners because of a +7 run differential. UT defeated Florida A&M (6-2) and Pittsburgh (5-2) on March 2 before poor weather washed away the rest of the weekend's action. Radley led the Orange with a .571 (4-for-7) average at the Eagle Classic, including a pair of RBI singles against Pitt. Koshell ripped a couple of doubles, with a bases-clearing two-bagger being the difference in her club's 5-2 win over the Panthers. Stephanie Humphrey fanned a career-high 11 batters in stopping Florida A&M.
The Lady Vols began their 30-game SEC schedule with a doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss on March 10 (3-1, 4-2) before falling to UM, 4-0, in 10 innings the next day. Tennessee had never begun league play at 2-0, but saw its bid for a sweep go by the wayside on a two-out grand slam in extra innings. As usual, pitching carried the squad to the series victory, as the staff compiled a 1.18 ERA over the three games with four earned runs in 23.2 frames. Stephanie Humphrey (two hits, no earned runs) and Ellis (four hits, no earned runs) won the first two games and Borg carried a shutout into the 10th of the finale. Fletcher (.400) and Koshell (.364) registered four hits apiece to pace UT in Oxford, while senior catcher Maura Mollet was a season-best 3-for-3 in the first game. Ironically, the team's 3-1 conquest of Ole Miss in its SEC opener marked the first time since '98 that the Orange had emerged victorious in its initial league game.
Offensive woes continued to plague the Lady Vols over March 17-18 at #8 LSU, as the club managed three hits on the weekend after being no-hit in the first and third games of the series. Until that point, Tennessee had been held hitless once in the program's six-year history. The Orange was just 3-of-63 (.048) with 25 strikeouts versus the vaunted Fighting Tiger pitching staff comprised of All-Americans Ashley Lewis and Britni Sneed, yet battled into the eighth frame of game two before falling, 2-1. Beitia's pitching staff certainly did its part in Death Valley, as Ellis (one earned run in 7.1 IP) and Stephanie Humphrey (one earned run in 7.0 IP) did all they could to keep the Orange in the hunt. LSU would go on to sweep the SEC regular-season and tournament titles en route to its initial appearance at the Women's College World Series.
After a stretch of 29 straight road games and a rainout the previous day, Tennessee had a successful home debut at Tyson Park against defending Eastern Division champion Kentucky on March 21. The Lady Vols stopped the Wildcats, 4-2, in the first game of a doubleheader as sophomore third baseman Carissa Roustan and Koshell belted solo homers in the fifth to help UT turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 win. Humphrey allowed four hits to improve to 7-5 with the decision. However, UK forged a split to overcome the then season-high 12 hits from the Lady Vols. The quintet of Koshell (2-for-4), Mollet (2-for-3), Radley (2-for-4), freshman Nikki Sexton (2-for-3) and junior Maria Torres (2-for-3) spearheaded the Orange's offensive attack, but UK left town with a 7-4 win. Interestingly, UT lost for the first time all season when it scored three runs or more.
Unbeaten and fourth-ranked Alabama rolled into Knoxville in mid-March hoping to sweep a three-game set from UT to keep its perfect mark intact. After the Crimson Tide ran its record to 27-0 with a 7-1 win in the opener on March 24, the Lady Vols turned the tables in the nightcap, keyed by a four-run third inning that catapulted the hosts to a 6-4 decision. UA took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Sexton answered with a two-run job in the bottom of the frame to move her team ahead to stay. Tennessee would later strike for four runs on five hits in the third to break things open.
Radley belted her first career HR in the win, as classmates Koshell and Mollet finished with two hits. Ellis went 5.1 innings, giving up five hits and four runs, to earn the triumph, while Borg was credited with her first save after tossing 1.2 hitless and scoreless frames. UT was no stranger to halting an opponent's lengthy winning streak, as the club had snapped #4 South Carolina's then-NCAA record winning streak at 38 games back in 1997. The following afternoon, the gang from Tuscaloosa responded with an 11-0 shutout to close the series and send the Lady Vols to 14-20 overall and 4-7 in the SEC.
Things did not improve the next weekend for the Lady Vols when Mississippi State arrived in town. The Bulldogs extended their school-record winning streak to nine games over March 31-Apr. 1 with a sweep of the Lady Vols. State took both ends of Saturday's double-dip, 13-4 and 3-1, before leaving Knoxville with a 7-1 win in its pocket the following afternoon. Heading off to Columbia for a mid-week series at #19 South Carolina, Tennessee sought to climb out of its 4-10 hole in conference action.
Unfortunately, the Lady Vol offense was held firmly in check by Gamecock hurlers Stacey Johnson and Megan Matthews. UT recorded a scant .080 (6-for-75) batting average in suffering a trio of shutout losses to Carolina, including a pair of 1-0 eight-inning setbacks at Beckham Field. One bright spot was that the pitching corps was solid yet again for Beitia, as Ellis (7.0 IP, zero earned runs) and Stephanie Humphrey (7.1 IP, one run) were victims of hard-luck decisions.
Sitting at 14-26 overall, 4-13 in SEC play and mired in a seven-game losing skid, the Lady Vols were desperate to right the ship as it hosted the sixth annual Lady Vol Spring Invitational. The Big Orange picked up their third tourney crown of 2001 by taking five of six contests within the event. Following a 2-1 loss to Virginia on the first day, the Lady Vols reeled off wins over Centenary (9-2, 13-3), Stephen F. Austin (8-6, 5-4) and UVa (3-1) to take the title outright.
Radley played a significant role in UT's tourney success, as the senior from Woodrising, Australia, compiled a batting average of .500 (8-for-16) with eight runs batted in, five runs, a pair of doubles and a homer. She also boasted an impressive slugging percentage of .812 and registered an on-base percentage of .529. Additionally, Radley took home the Most Valuable Player plaque of an event for the first time in her UT career.
Humphrey was tabbed as the Most Valuable Pitcher after compiling a 2-1 mark and a 0.95 ERA in 14.2 innings. The righty earned the triumph over UVa that enabled the Orange and White to win the championship. In her first start, she fell to the Cavaliers, 2-1, despite giving up five hits with five Ks and one earned run. The elder Humphrey was also credited with the victory in UT's come-from-behind decision over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Koshell (.562 avg., five runs, three RBI) and freshman catcher Rachael Mink (.385 avg., five RBI, game-winning homer against Stephen F. Austin) also represented the Lady Vols on the All-Tourney team. Mink's first career blast negated a 4-2 deficit and paved the way for a 5-4 conquest of the Ladyjacks.
Back within the SEC grind in its pursuit of a postseason berth, Tennessee posted a 4-2 victory against Arkansas on April 15 to win the rubber match of the weekend series between the programs. The clubs split Saturday's twinbill, with the Orange drawing first blood, 4-2, before UA rookie hurler Heather Schlichtman fired a five-hitter in helping the Hogs to a 3-0 shutout. The two wins marked UT's first series triumph since a 2-1 showing at Ole Miss in the SEC's opening weekend of play. Koshell keyed UT versus the Lady'Backs with a .556 (5-for-9) clip, including a solo homer in the finale. Junior catcher Adrianna Wilson went 3-for-3 with a three-run blast to seal the triumph in the third game. Humphrey recorded a win and her first career save in the series, while Borg earned the first win of her SEC career in the finale.
The Lady Vols stepped away from SEC competition on April 18 to face Virginia Tech in the fifth annual State-Line Classic in Bristol, Tenn. The Hokies snapped a 1-1 tie with a pair of runs in the fifth, and although Koshell pulled UT to within 3-2 on a homer in the sixth, VT added another insurance run to finalize the margin at 4-2. Koshell accounted for all of the Big Orange offense with two solo blasts, marking the first time since '99 that a Lady Vol had recorded a multiple-homer effort.
Despite losing the first encounter between the clubs, Auburn rebounded to sweep the next two meetings from the Lady Vols to claim the weekend series on the Plains April 21-22. UT posted an easy 7-2 win over the Tigers to take the first game, as Stephanie Humphrey went the distance for her fourth straight triumph, Wilson belted a pair of solo homers and Fletcher was 2-for-4 with a couple of doubles. However, AU halted a 10-game losing streak behind senior Mary Petrie's school-record three homers to help the hosts to a 5-3 win and a split of the twinbill. The Burnt Orange and Navy Blue had its offense firing on all cylinders to take the rubber match the next day, 12-1, in five innings.
Now at 7-16 and clinging to its SEC hopes, Tennessee traveled down to Gainesville looking to secure its first-ever win in the Swamp against archrival Florida the following weekend. The Gators swept both ends of Saturday's double-dip, 3-0 and 7-0, but the Lady Vols salvaged the final game of the series at Florida with a 6-3 conquest UF before a regional television audience on FOX Sports Net South. The triumph was UT's first in 11 tries at the UF Softball Stadium. Borg scattered eight hits and two earned runs to improve to 8-9 in the circle. Koshell was a career-best 4-for-4, Low slugged her team-high seventh homer with a three-run shot in the third and Roustan added a solo blast to begin the sixth to lift the clan from Knoxville.
Positioned at 23-33 overall, the stage was set for Tennessee to face Georgia three times at Tyson Park on May 5-6 in its final series of the regular season. Entering the weekend, the Lady Vols were ninth in the SEC standings with an 8-18 mark, while the Dawgs sported a 7-17 record in league action. Since the top eight schools would advance to the double-elimination SEC Tourney to be held in Chattanooga, everything seemed to be on the line for both squads.
Behind the stellar pitching of rookie Nichole Urban and a season-high 15-hit offensive attack, Georgia would take the first game, 9-2. Facing a do-or-die situation with its SEC hopes, the Lady Vols responded with a 6-3 defeat of the Bulldogs, as Borg hurled a complete game to even her mark at 9-9. The hosts knocked out freshman starter Kaili Howard in the bottom of the first inning en route to a 3-0 lead. Torres later picked an opportune time to bash her first homer of the season, as her two-run bomb in the fourth built a 6-1 lead for Beitia's club. Although Georgia pulled to within 6-3 in the last inning on back-to-back RBI doubles, Borg was able to end the game by stabbing a line drive and tossing over to Low for the final out. With a league record of 9-19, Tennessee could now punch its ticket to the postseason with one more win in the rubber match of the series.
With a possible SEC berth hanging in the balance for both squads, Urban held the Lady Vol offense in check for the second straight day to lift the Bulldogs to a 2-0 whitewash of Tennessee. The right-hander allowed just two singles in preventing the Orange from making the trek to Chattanooga. Surprisingly, Auburn would upset LSU that same afternoon, preventing UGA from heading down to Jim Frost Stadium as the eighth seed at SECs.
The duo of seniors Koshell and Radley led five Lady Vols on the SEC Academic Honor Roll announced by SEC Commissioner Roy Kramer. Torres, Stephanie Humphrey and Murray were also among the 69 student-athletes receiving that recognition. For the second straight year, however, Tennessee failed to place anyone on the first or second All-SEC teams.
On May 12, Beitia made the decision to resign after six seasons according to an announcement made by athletics director Joan Cronan. Having developed UT's softball program from its infancy, he guided the Lady Vols to a 233-163 overall record with one East title and one NCAA Regional appearance. A national search was underway by the middle of May to name his successor.
Losing a quartet of seniors, Fletcher, Koshell, Mollet and Radley, who occupied the top four spots on the Lady Vols' offensive charts, UT will look to regain its winning form with some new faces under its next head coach. On the positive side, the pitching corps comprised of Borg, Ellis and Humphrey should continue its steady improvement as the Orange begins its quest back up the SEC ladder.
