University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS HOST OLE MISS TO BEGIN SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE ACTION
March 08, 2002 | Softball
March 8, 2002
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
With 31 non-conference contests under its belt, the Lady Vol softball team (23-7-1) will now turn its attention to the grind of the 30-game Southeastern Conference slate. Following fifth-place showings in the Eastern Division during the past two campaigns, new co-head coaches Karen and Ralph Weekly are hopeful that the Orange and White can contend for one of eight berths into the SEC Tournament to be held in Chattanooga. UT's first hurdle will be a visit by the University of Mississippi (11-5) for a weekend set at Tyson Park. The Lady Vols and the Lady Rebels will play twice on Saturday and have a single game on Sunday.
"We're very excited for our SEC opener," said Karen Weekly. "We have seen Ole Miss play this season and know they have a very solid ballclub. Just like every team in the conference, they are much improved over last year. It is important for us to come out of the gates strong, as there are no easy wins in this league. It will take an all-around effort this weekend to be successful."
Six of the Lady Vols' starters are hitting above the .300 level en route to a .296 team batting average. Senior catcher Adrianna Wilson leads the Orange with a .374 clip and 26 runs batted in and is tied for second with seven homers. Rookie Amber Rhinehart (.351, 12 RBI, five doubles), senior Maria Torres (.341, 16 RBI, four doubles) and junior Carissa Roustan (.337, 24 RBI, eight doubles, seven homers) comprise the heart of the batting order. Junior Blaine Teasley (.333) has done everything and a lot more out of the leadoff spot, pacing her squad with 66 total bases, 30 runs, nine blasts and six stolen bases, in addition to driving in 22 runs.
In the circle, junior Stephanie Humphrey continues to get the job done for the Weeklys. The right-hander won both ends of the double-dip on Wednesday to increase her mark to 14-4 and lower her earned run average to 0.87. The Knoxville native has struck out 177 batters in 112.2 innings to rank first in the league and she has tossed six solo shutouts. Sophomore Leigh Ann Ellis (7-2, 1.74 ERA, 55 K in 68.1 IP) will most likely start the second game of the series, while sophomore Crystal Bobo (2-1, 1.31 ERA, 21 K in 16.0 IP) will be ready to take the ball when she is needed.
Tennessee's offense was firing on all cylinders in its home debut, putting up 30 runs on 27 hits, including 11 doubles and three home runs, in a 22-0 and 8-0 sweep of Tennessee State. Both contests were stopped because of the eight-run rule. Wilson went 5-for-5 with seven RBI and three doubles in the opener, while Roustan was 3-for-4 with a career-high five runs batted in and two doubles. Teasley slugged a pair of two-run homers and sophomore Andie Sherman added her first career dinger and a personal-high four RBI to provide Humphrey with more than enough run support.
The Lady Rebels head to Rocky Top off to the second-best start in their existence. UM is 11-5 overall and has taken four of its last five games. Coached by Candi Letts, in her fourth year at Ole Miss, freshman catcher DeDe Justice has started her collegiate career with a bang. She ranks seventh in the SEC with a .390 batting average, is third in both slugging percentage (.780) and on-base percentage (.527), is fifth in homers (five) and has drawn 13 walks. Sophomore first baseman Andrea Brahs is hitting .341 and has driven in 12 runs, sophomore left fielder Britte Hardy (.304) has nabbed four bases in five attempts and freshman center fielder Brooke Turner (.250) has scored 10 runs and swiped six bases in seven opportunities.
Ole Miss employs three pitchers: junior Lindsay Price is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA in 36.0 innings, junior Leslie Day is 4-2 with a 1.46 ERA in 38.1 IP and freshman Lindsey Whatley is 4-2 with a team-low 1.18 ERA and a pair of solo shutouts in 35.2 frames. Price has struck out 39 to pace the Lady Rebels in that category.
The Lady Vols opened SEC play last season with a doubleheader sweep of Ole Miss on March 10, 3-1 and 4-2, before falling to UM, 4-0 in 10 innings the next day. UT had never begun league play at 2-0, but saw its bid for a sweep fall by the wayside on a two-out grand slam by Jennifer Poore. Pitching carried the Orange to the series victory, as the staff compiled a 1.18 ERA over the three games with four earned runs in 23.2 frames. Humphrey (2H, 0 ER) and Ellis (4H, 0 ER) won the first two games and Nicole Borg carried a shutout into the 10th of the finale. Shortstop Annie Fletcher (.400) and center fielder Janette Koshell (.364) registered four hits apiece to pace UT during the weekend, while Maura Mollet was 3-for-3 in the opener.
UT's 3-1 conquest of Ole Miss in its 2001 SEC opener marked the first time since '98 that the Orange had emerged victorious in its initial league game. In both 1999 (2-3) and 2000 (6-8), UT was on the short end of the stick against fellow Eastern Division rival Georgia. The squad now sports a 3-2 (.600) mark in openers since SEC play started in 1997.
After winning the first seven games between the teams, UT has since taken three of five encounters from Ole Miss to fashion a 10-2 all-time lead. Tennessee is 4-0 against the Lady Rebels in Knoxville, 5-2 versus UM in Oxford and has claimed the lone meeting played at a neutral site.
