HUMPHREY BLANKS MISSISSIPPI STATE, 2-0, ON FOUR HITS

Friday, March 29

Starkville, Miss.

University of Tennessee

31-13-1, 6-6

Mississippi State

21-16, 4-6

Tennessee

Mississippi State

March 29, 2002 | Softball

Box Score

March 29, 2002

Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss.

Junior Stephanie Humphrey crafted a four-hit shutout of Mississippi State to lift the Lady Vols to a 2-0 win in the opener of the squads' three-game weekend series on Friday afternoon. In improving to 21-9, the right-hander struck out eight in hurling her eighth solo shutout of the campaign. Her effort helped Tennessee (31-13-1/6-6 SEC) snap a three-game skid in Southeastern Conference play and marked the Orange's first win over the Bulldogs since taking a 4-2 decision on May 14, 1999 at the SEC Tournament. MSU fell to 21-16 overall and 4-6 in the league with the setback.

Mississippi State threatened in the bottom of the third, as sophomore Jennifer Jessup singled up the middle for her team's initial hit. After a stolen base, the Weeklys decided to walk senior All-American Kellie Wilkerson intentionally with two down. With junior Jennifer Nelson at the plate, Humphrey let loose a wild pitch to advance the runners to second and third. However, the right-hander had Nelson pop to sophomore Nikki Sexton for the final out.

Thanks to a clutch two-out triple from junior Carissa Roustan and a single by classmate Blaine Teasley, the Lady Vols opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the fourth against freshman Melissa Massey. Freshman Amber Rhinehart punched a single with two down before Roustan followed with a three-bagger down the right field line to drive in her teammate. Teasley then notched a base-hit into shallow right to provide the Orange with a 2-0 lead. The Tucson, Ariz., native swiped second base for her eighth theft of the year but was stranded when Massey struck out senior Maria Torres after a 14-pitch at bat.

Sophomore Iyhia McMichael roped a single past Humphrey to begin the home half of the fourth, but senior catcher Adrianna Wilson gunned down her stolen base attempt of second base. Previously, Wilson had foiled sophomore Krystal Tillman's theft of second to end the second stanza.

In the fifth, Tillman started things off for the Bulldogs with a single into left and was sacrificed to second by senior Kasey Whitehead. Humphrey answered by retiring sophomore pinch hitter Lindsay Nelson swinging and catching sophomore Jennifer Jessup looking at strike three to work out of the frame.

Humphrey hit Wilkerson to put MSU's leadoff batter on in the sixth and then a damaging error allowed Jennifer Nelson to reach first, giving State a pair of runners aboard. Once again, Humphrey was able to work herself out of the jam by having Michael and Jaspers fly out to junior Nicole Schaeffer for the first two outs. The Knoxville native then whiffed sophomore Jennifer Waterman to preserve her club's two-run lead.

In the seventh, Humphrey induced pop outs by Tillman and freshman pinch hitter Tyeah Patterson before sophomore pinch hitter Blaire Brown tagged a double to the left field fence. With the tying run in the batter's box, the right-hander struck out Jessup to end the game. Rhinehart finished 2-for-3 to lead UT, which managed five hits against Massey (4-8). Wilkerson tossed two perfect innings for the Bulldogs.